Mortuos Suscitare
by Insert Clever Potter Name Here
Summary: Eleven years have passed since the end of the war. On May 2 2009, Harry arrives at work to find a horrible surprise awaits him- and that surprise includes six very dead Order Members, and one very dead DA member. Post-DH, Technically canon until first chapter, M rated for themes.
1. Chapter 1

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

She stumbled through the corridor, searching for Remus. She found him, sprawled across the floor, pale and still.

"Remus, no- please no-" Tonks sobbed, falling to her knees beside him. Her heart broke when she realised he wasn't breathing, and he was cold- too cold. "Remus, please, wake up."

There was a laugh behind her, but at this point, what did she care? Remus was dead, what could she do? She could feel the green light coming for her, and too late, one word entered her mind: _Teddy_.

The light struck her, but it definitely didn't feel instantaneous. It burned. Her entire body _burned_ , she felt as if something was being ripped from her chest. But she couldn't scream.

Her body had fallen across Remus', but she could feel herself dying. She could _feel_ the pain. The world became black but the pain didn't vanish. If anything, it was becoming worse, building and building like someone was using the Cruciatus on her.

It was as if years passed, this pain clutching at her body. It was if an eternity passed by, but maybe it had only been hours. Minutes, perhaps.

The pain stopped abruptly, with a voice filling her head, speaking one simple sentence over and over: _Kill Harry Potter._

* * *

 _ **May 2**_ ** _, 2009_**

"-and Lily needs- Harry, are you listening?" Ginny asked, looking at him intently.

Harry yawned and nodded. "Sure."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm sorry, Gin." Harry said. "It's just- the kids are exhausting, and now with Teddy with us as well- I'm just tired."

"It's understandable." Ginny said, nodding. "But at least you get to get away from them at work."

Harry smirked. "Would you like to be Head Auror, Mrs Potter?"

Ginny smiled. "Well, I would, but the current Head Auror is a very handsome man and I wouldn't want to take his job away."

"Speaking of handsome Head Aurors, I'll have to leave now if I don't want to be late." Harry said, standing up and picking up his plate and coffee mug. He deposited them in the sink and turned to give Ginny a kiss. "See you this evening?"

"Of course." Ginny said. "But don't be late. You promised Teddy that you two were going to a Quidditch game. To celebrate his-"

"His Hogwarts letter, yes, I'll remember. I'm not letting him down today." Harry said, as he stepped into the fireplace of Grimmauld Place. He nodded to Ginny and disappeared, landing neatly in his office.

He was barely there for more than a few minutes when Hermione Granger(Now Hermione Weasley), the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, burst in. "Oh, Harry, finally!" She cried. "I've been waiting, something's happened, Harry-"

"What's going on?" Harry asked. "What are you doing here? You should be at home, with Fabian-"

"Harry, the graves at Hogwarts- they were damaged early this morning." Hermione said. "Filch discovered it shortly after dawn when he spotted someone who looked, in his words, 'remarkably and suspiciously like Remus Lupin' heading towards the front gates of Hogwarts. He checked the graves, to see if perhaps it was a relative of someone and-"

"What happened to the graves?" Harry asked, frowning.

Hermione let out a breath. "Some of them are empty."

"How many?" Harry asked.

"Four at Hogwarts."

Harry frowned. " _At Hogwarts_?" He repeated. "Does that mean that other graves were damaged as well, elsewhere?"

"Your parents' graves are empty as well. That report came in shortly after the Hogwarts one. Some Muggle woman was visiting a loved one and noticed that the graves had been dug up. She called the Muggle Police, and it was brought to us."

Harry sank into his desk chair. "Who would do this? Have you searched Hogsmeade? Looked for this man Filch described?"

"That's just it, Harry." Hermione said. "We did, and we found him."

"And?" Harry prompted.

"He's in a holding cell downstairs. Harry, I think it _is_ Remus."

"It can't be."

"Come see for yourself. He has the scars, he has Remus' voice- he _looks_ like Remus. He's even wearing the robes Remus was buried in, but his eyes, Harry-"

"It could be someone using Polyjuice Potion." Harry said, but his mind was wandering. What if it was Remus?

"Polyjuice won't work if the person you've taken from is dead. That man, if he is taking Polyjuice, should look like an eleven year old corpse." Hermione said quickly and then froze, looking almost sick at the mention of corpses. "Harry, come with me, you'll see. And you can question him. But I believe it's him."

"What other graves were disturbed?" Harry asked, after a moment of silence.

"Ron's, for one. Colin and Tonks, as well."

"And no one's spotted them?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No reports yet, anyway."

Harry stood slowly. "Then we go, together, to question Remus. If it's him, and if he remembers anything, maybe we can figure out what happened."

Hermione nodded and they stepped out of the office, heading for the lifts.

"Auror Potter!" A voice demanded. Harry and Hermione turned to see Dawlish heading for them, a roll of parchment in his hand. He looked pale, shaken even. "Another one has been spotted."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Auror Tonks, she was found near the Leaky Cauldron. Auror Savage and I- we got there as soon as we heard."

"Did you see her?" Harry asked immediately.

Dawlish nodded. "She wasn't like herself. We tried to talk to her, she seemed to hear us, but there was something strange about her-"

"Other than the fact she's suddenly alive?"

"She was dressed like she was when she was buried. But she _looks_ dead, Potter. No colour to her eyes,-"

"They're just white, right?" Hermione asked. Dawlish nodded. "Like Remus'. Where is she?"

"She walked away from us, and we were pursuing her, but she managed to lose us."

"Remus wasn't walking very fast, how did Tonks get away?" Hermione asked. "They've been dead eleven years, speed and stealth won't be easy for them-"

"She turned down an alley, and when we turned as well, she was gone. We searched the alley but she was nowhere." Dawlish explained. "But she'll be spotted again, they're not exactly hiding from us."

"Right." Harry said. "Dawlish, get a group of Aurors out there. Patrol London, patrol Godric's Hollow and Hogsmeade. If you find _any_ of them, bring them in. Stun them, I don't care. We need to know what happened, and why they've returned."


	2. Chapter 2

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Harry froze, his hand on the bars of the cell. There was no denying the man appeared to be Remus, with minor differences. His hair was darker, he looked younger- almost the Lupin that Harry had met in the forest. But the shocking difference that Harry almost couldn't look at, or look away from, were his eyes. Where there had once been a very light green, was _white_. No iris, no pupil- just _white._

"Harry?" Hermione asked. "Are you alright?"

Harry went to speak but a loud voice interrupted them. "Potter!" Dawlish yelled, and when they turned, Harry gaped. Being dragged between Savage and Williamson was a younger looking Sirius Black- with the same eyes as Remus. Sirius looked up- and Harry wasn't sure if he made eye contact, but he must have seen Harry because he began fighting against Savage and Williamson.

"Potter!" Sirius yelled, finally shoving Savage and Williamson off and heading for Harry. Harry wasn't sure what to expect, but didn't time to draw his wand before Sirius' hand closed around his throat, shoving him against the bars of the cell behind him. An arm wrapped around one of Harry's from behind, and Harry spotted Savage _with_ Dawlish and Williamson, trying to drag Sirius away from Harry.

Just as they pried Sirius' hand off of Harry's neck, he blacked out, barely aware of hitting his head as he fell.

* * *

Ginny was tired. Lily Luna was only a few months old, plus she had 2 and a half year old Albus and almost-5 year old James. The plus side was that she had 11 year old Teddy with her, and was keeping the boys busy in the sitting room. She looked up as the fireplace flared green, startled to see Harry home so early.

"Harry, I wasn't expecting you yet-" Ginny began but stopped when she saw Hermione at Harry's side."What happened?"

"Harry fainted." Hermione said, smoothly, leading him to the table. "We were down by the holding cells, and when he fainted, he hit his head on the bars of one of the cells."

"Fainted?" Ginny asked. "Harry, are you feeling alright?"

"Other than a headache, I'm fine." Harry said, sinking into a chair.

"But are you sick?" Ginny asked, as Hermione took Lily Luna from her. "Why would you faint?"

"You're probably going to want to sit down." Hermione said to Ginny. Ginny looked at Hermione, but listened.

"What are you doing at the Ministry, Hermione? I thought you were-"

"On leave?" Hermione asked. "Yes, I was supposed to be on leave for another week, but this is important. Molly took the kids this morning." Hermione added as Ginny went to speak again.

"Ginny." Harry said, bringing Ginny's attention back to him. "We might need to prepare Teddy for this."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Prepare him for _what_?"

"We were supposed to go to Hogwarts, together, tonight before the Quidditch game." Harry explained. "He likes to visit his parents."

"And?" Ginny asked.

"His parents won't be there."

Ginny looked between Harry and Hermione. "And where would they have gone?"

"Well." Hermione said slowly. "Remus is currently _at_ the Ministry, and-"

"Remus? As in Remus Lupin, is at the Ministry?" Ginny asked, in disbelief. She thought for a minute. "You mean someone took their bodies, and you've found at least one?" She asked, feeling almost nauseous at the thought.

"Not exactly." Harry said.

"Then what do you mean?" Ginny asked. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, but before they could answer, the fireplace flared up again and Dawlish appeared.

"We've got Black under control, I don't know what he was doing, but he's been separated from Lupin- together, they kept trying to get by us." Dawlish said in a quick breath.

"Wait, wait, wait." Ginny said loudly. "What on Earth is he talking about?"

"Well." Harry said this time. "The dead have returned. So far, we've detained two of them but Tonks was sighted earlier near the Leaky Cauldron."

Ginny felt sick. "And- what are Muggles saying about this?"

"Well, I don't know." Harry said.

"They're not saying much about _corpses_ walking the streets?" Ginny asked. Dawlish looked at the floor. "What?" She demanded from him.

"Gin, Ron's gone too." Harry said. "And they don't look like corpses. That's why we're trying to find them, and find out why they've come back-"

"What do you mean, they don't look like corpses?" Ginny demanded. "What do they look like?"

"Well, themselves." Hermione said. "A few differences-"

"And you actually think that it's them." Ginny said. "Not worried about impostors, or anything."

"You wouldn't be able to take Polyjuice if the person you took from has died." Hermione said. "Especially if they've been dead so long. And it wouldn't explain Sirius' return, there's no body to take hair from."

"Hermione." Ginny said, sighing. "Human transfiguration. Did you guys not think about that? We learned it in 6th and 7th. What if it's a group of Death Eaters who are doing this?"

"It would explain why they both tried to attack me." Harry said slowly.

"They attacked you? Sirius and Remus?" Ginny asked.

"It's why he fainted." Hermione said quietly. "But why? Why would they become the dead? Why not become one of us, we'd be far more useful- and we'd be able to get closer to you."

Dawlish, Harry and Ginny gave Hermione an odd look.

"I'm sorry, but it's true." Hermione responded. "Think about it. Why would a Death Eater become someone who has been dead 11 years? Or 13? Or even 27?"

"27?" Ginny asked.

Harry sighed. "My parents' graves are empty too."

* * *

It felt right, standing in front of Grimmauld Place. She could see it, of course she could, Harry wouldn't have kept the protection after the war. If anything, the only protection left was the charm keeping it hidden from Muggles.

"Miss, are you alright?" An elderly man asked, pausing behind her. She figured he had noticed she was covered in dirt, her dark curls hanging limply against her pale face and shoulders. She turned to him, and his eyes widened as he stared at her colour-less eyes. She could almost feel his fear as he took a few steps backward, turned, and walked off quickly. She knew that two of the others had been caught already- but that didn't matter. They had been tasked with a mission- and here she was, facing Harry Potter's house.

She would feel bad, if she had the ability to feel any emotions, that she was waiting for The Boy Who Lived to step out of the house. For his wife, and possibly his children, to witness his death would have had the living-Tonks retreating from the task. She saw a curtain on the second floor flutter, and a boy with blue hair looked out of the window, vanishing a second later. She stared at the window, and one word entered her mind: _Teddy_.

* * *

"Aunt Gin?" Teddy's shaky voice called as he went stomping down the kitchen stairs. He threw open the kitchen door and froze at the sight of all four adults sitting there.

"Are you alright, Teddy?" Ginny asked, her eyes wandering to his pale hair.

"There's someone outside." Teddy said, gesturing up the stairs. "I looked out the window from the sitting room, and-" He broke off, his bottom lip trembling a bit.

"And?" Harry asked, already on his feet.

"It looked like a young Gran, and Mum looked like Gran in all the pictures-" Teddy said, looking at the floor.

"What?" Harry demanded, racing up the stairs. Ginny and Dawlish followed just as fast, as Hermione carried Lily Luna over to Teddy and took his hand, walking up the stairs with him.

"Everything's alright, Teddy." Hermione promised. They reached the sitting room, and Harry was staring out the window.

"That's her." Harry said. "Dawlish, we're going to detain her. Hermione, Ginny, take the kids upstairs. Teddy, go with them."

"What do you mean, it's her?" Teddy demanded, walking to the window to stand next to Harry. "That can't be Mum, you said Mum was-"

"She was, Teddy, she was. Go with Gin and Hermione." Harry commanded. Teddy rolled his eyes but went with Hermione and Ginny and the younger kids.

* * *

Harry stared out of the window. She wasn't moving, and she was looking exactly where he was standing. Unless the Death Eaters were able to mimic every detail, down to their burial clothes, this wasn't a case of Death Eaters impersonating anyone.

She seemed to be waiting for something, and Harry had a suspicion that it wasn't anyone else but him.


	3. Chapter 3

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

In hindsight, Harry had not thought through his plan with Dawlish. While it was true that Dawlish, despite a few minor fumbles that Harry had witnessed over the many years, was a very capable Auror- there was something about the way Tonks was that had made him freeze, almost too scared to get to close to her. Whether it was because he had known her from the day she began Auror training, and the mere sight of an undead version of her was what bothered him, or what she had said when they approached her.

"I'd say I was sorry about your wife's death, Dawlish, but really I'm not." She said slowly.

Dawlish froze, blinking in confusion. "What did you say about my wife?"

"Lindy, wasn't it? And a house fire? Shame her wizard husband wasn't there, could have saved her."

Dawlish lunged at her, apparently deciding for a more physical form of detaining the young witch in front of him. Harry would have expected it to work as well. After all, Tonks was a very petite witch- and had been dead for eleven years. But as soon as Dawlish reached her, she had twisted his arm and pinned it behind him.

"Now, Dawlish, how about you sit this one out?" She suggested calmly. "I need Potter, and Potter alone."

"You have me, Tonks." Harry said, holding up his wand. "I can't curse you, right, if I don't have my wand?" He asked, placing the wand on the ground, grateful that there were no Muggles to be seen.

She shoved Dawlish to the ground. "Don't get up." She demanded, stepping over him. Dawlish wrapped an arm around one of her legs, causing her to trip forward and land on her hands and knees. And suddenly Harry found himself thanking Andromeda for the fact she insisted her daughter wear shoes in her casket, despite the fact no one would see them- after all, the heels couldn't be helping Tonks' constant lack of balance.

Tonks turned over, aiming a good kick to Dawlish's ribs and Dawlish's eyes widened for a split second as he stared at her. Harry reacted fast, grabbing his wand and aiming at her back. "Stupefy!" The red jet hit her directly in between her shoulders blades, and she fell limply to the side.

Harry pocketed his wand, and stepped over her form to help Dawlish.

"Quite a kicker." Dawlish said, rubbing his ribs. "But Harry- I saw- when she turned around again, her eyes are-"

"Pure white? Like Sirius and Remus, I'd assume-"

"No." Dawlish said. He leaned down, wrapping an arm under Tonks' arms and hoisted her up, lifting one of her eyelids- none too gently, but Harry supposed in a way, Tonks wouldn't really care. And then Harry gaped. Her eyes _had_ been pure white when they had approached her, but now, there was a thin circle where the iris would have met the whites.

"They've changed." Harry commented unnecessarily. "But why?"

"Harry!" Ginny cried, jogging down the stairs from the door. "The Ministry Flooed- they've got another one- didn't say who." She looked at Tonks in Dawlish's arm. "No match for you two, huh?"

"Nah, she got Dawlish good." Harry commented as Dawlish hoisted Tonks up higher to place an arm under her knees. "We'll take her through our fire, detain her separately from the others as well."

* * *

Alecto Carrow paced. The spell had worked, but she only wanted four of the people from the Hogwarts Battle. The other three, she couldn't explain. But if it worked, it worked. She wanted Harry Potter dead, for her Master, and she was sure it would work.

It had to. Anyone who rose the dead commanded them. But why, so far, had _four_ of them been detained at the Ministry? Honestly, one was a werewolf- one was an Ex-Auror. One had escaped Azkaban before! And one by one, they were all getting detained.

She cursed. It couldn't fall apart, not now. She had three chances left, and three _only_. If they were found and detained, it would be linked back to her. They'd know what she had been doing since her release. She'd go back to Azkaban.

 _No._ If her plan failed, she'd kill Potter herself.

* * *

Harry stared at the cell. It was Ron. He was staring at Ron. The redheaded lanky, freckled covered boy was supposed to be a few months older than him. _Older._ Instead he was younger, he was still 17. Still young. Nothing had changed between his death and now, except for the thing that changed for everyone else.

"Potter, I hate to say it." Dawlish said, appearing.

"Maybe don't."

"We won't be able to detain all seven." Dawlish continued anyway. "We don't have enough cells."

Harry cursed under his breath. It was true. Six graves had been empty, and Sirius had shown up. They had five holding cells. _Five._

"Right." Harry said. "We need to put some of them together. We need a cell left empty, in case we need it later."

"Put them together?" Dawlish asked, frowning.

"Yes. Those who didn't know each other while alive. Colin and my Mum can be in Tonks' cell- there's no way the three of them ever met. Dad, stick in with Ron."

"I said, where's my wife?" A loud voice demanded at the end of the row. Harry and Dawlish turned to see the Watch-Wizard standing there with wide eyes. "My son! Where is he?" The voice demanded, louder. Harry made his way down to the voice. He froze a few steps away. Remus Lupin was clutching a bar of the cell in one hand, reaching for the Watch-Wizard with the other. Harry stared- Remus' eyes were his own. "Where are they? Answer me!"

There was a scream from the other end of the long hallway. Harry turned to see Dawlish rushing forward to help Savage and Williamson, who were pulling a young redhead through the door. The woman looked up and Harry felt like he might faint. His mother was struggling, screaming and looking around with bright green eyes.

"Keep her separate!" Harry demanded. "Put her by herself, not with Tonks!" Now that at _least_ two had become themselves again, he wasn't sure that any of them should be together. But now he was down to no empty cells.

Dawlish nodded, helping the other two drag Lily into the empty cell. Harry felt sick. What was going on? These people- _his friends and family_ were returning, and it seemed one by one- they were becoming themselves again.

"Auror Potter?" The Watch-Wizard asked, appearing beside him. Harry looked over at him, weakly. "Do you need to sit down? You look faint-"

Harry shook his head. "No, I need to find out what's going on." Harry said quietly. His eyes wandered back to the now quiet cell that held Remus Lupin. He walked to the cell, standing in front of the bars. Remus had sunk onto the bench, his head in his hands.

"Remus Lupin?" Harry asked. Remus' head snapped up and his eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

Harry took a deep breath. "I am Head Auror Harry Potter. I have questions for you."


	4. Chapter 4

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"You can't be Harry." Remus said quietly. Harry opened the cell door and slipped into the cell, closing the door behind him.

"I am. Ask me anything." Harry said. "Anything you want."

"Your Patronus?" Remus asked.

"A stag." Harry said, pulling out his wand. " _Expecto Patronum_." The stag appeared, turning in front of Harry and vanishing.

"How did we meet?"

"On the train to Hogwarts, in September of 1993. You were asleep, and woke up when Dementors boarded the train." Harry explained.

Remus still seemed confused. "But you're-"

"Older, I know. I turn 28 in a couple of months." Harry said.

Remus looked up at him. "What happened?"

Harry sat on the far end of the bench in the cell. "Eleven years ago, today, there was a battle. You were killed, along with fifty others. And four of you are back, I need to ask you what you remember."

"Dora." Remus said. "What did she do, when I was gone?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Remus." Harry said gently. "Tonks died too."

Remus stared at Harry in horror. "When?" Remus demanded.

"We're not entirely sure." Harry said. "She was found with you-"

"She was there? At the battle?"

"You didn't know?" Harry asked. "She never found you in time?"

"Who raised Teddy?"

"Andromeda, for a while. He's with me and Ginny now. Got his Hogwarts letter three weeks ago."

"Is he-"

"No. He has a few... wolfish qualities but he's not a werewolf." Harry explained. "Remus, I need to ask you questions."

Remus nodded absently.

"What do you remember?"

"Pain." Remus said quietly.

 _ **Dolohov had an advantage on Remus, and he knew it. It had been stupid to arrive. The second Kingsley spotted him in the Hog's Head, he had rushed to Remus, saying he hadn't meant for a message to go to him and that he should go home, back to his wife and son.**_

 _ **And Remus wished he had listened. For once he wished he had been the coward of their group, the coward Harry had called him. Unfortunately, he wasn't. So he dueled, throwing every curse he could think of at Dolohov.**_

 _ **But Dolohov was faster, infinitely more skilled, and hadn't just spent the last 8 months in hiding. The purple flame ripped across Remus' chest before he could block it, and he fell, the pain spreading quickly. He couldn't breathe, his vision was darkening. No, no, he couldn't be dying. He was supposed to go home, go back to Dora, to Teddy.**_

 _ **No. No. This wasn't right. He knew it was too late when he could no longer see or hear the battle anymore. But why did the pain remain? It felt like eternity, the pain wracking his body, the pain becoming worse and worse until-** Kill Harry Potter. **The voice filled his head, and he wanted to listen, he did. He had to listen. He had to kill Harry.**_

"So you heard a voice?" Harry asked after a moment. "Did you recognise it?"

"Yes." Remus said quietly. "But I can't remember a name."

Harry was silent for a moment. "You're not, uh, going to kill me, are you?" He asked.

Remus smirked. "No."

Harry nodded slowly. "That's what I figured."

"How many came back?" Remus asked after a minute.

"Seven, we assume."

"Assume?"

"Six graves were empty, but Sirius came back too, and he didn't have a body to return to. We need to know who did this, and how." Harry explained.

"Who else?"

"My parents, so far we just have Mum here. Ron and Sirius are here as well, and Tonks."

Remus went to say something, but Harry held up a hand. "You can't see her or Sirius, not yet. They're not themselves, not like you are."

Remus nodded but looked disappointed all the same.

"We're trying to find the other two- Dad and Colin, if Colin returned, we don't know yet. But if Mum's here, I feel like I can safely assume Dad's back too."

"James, look at me!" His mother's voice was yelling. "James, please!"

Remus paled. "Was that Lily-?"

But Harry wasn't listening. He had already stood, swinging open the cell door and heading down the hallway as the cell door slammed shut behind him. He stopped as soon as he saw the scene in front of him.

It was his father, being held up by two Aurors. He was unconscious, and Harry looked around. They didn't have an empty cell, was putting him with someone else going to be safe?

"Put him with Ron." Harry finally said. "Dawlish!"

Dawlish looked up from where he was leaning over the desk, jotting notes down.

"We need to do something here. My Mum, I saw her, she has her own eyes again- and she's clearly asking for Dad. Go talk with her, calm her down, and I'll talk to Remus- we'll put them together. It'll leave a cell open for if we find Colin or need it for something else." Harry explained. "Oh, Merlin." He muttered, staring over Dawlish's shoulder.

The Minister of Magic had arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"Minister!" Harry greeted, standing in front of one of the cells before Kingsley could properly see who they were dealing with. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I was in the Auror department, but there are very few Aurors there." Kingsley responded. "Where are they all?"

"Around London, some in Hogsmeade, some at Hogwarts." Harry reeled off.

"Why?" Kingsley inquired.

"Well, there was an incident this morning and we're trying to-"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt." A voice said from behind Harry. Harry turned to see Sirius leaning against the bars of his cell, his eyes the same grey that Harry had come to know.

"Is that-" Kingsley asked, stepping by Harry. "Sirius Black? In the Ministry?"

"Yes." Harry said.

Sirius was staring at Harry now, frowning, looking like he wanted to ask a question but didn't really want the answer.

"How is this possible?" Kingsley asked Harry.

"Well, we're trying to find out. He wasn't like that earlier." Harry explained. "I'll show you."

He stepped over to the cell where Dawlish had deposited Tonks, thankful that she was still Stunned for now.

"Oh, _Merlin_." Kingsley exhaled behind him. Harry opened the cell door and gestured Kingsley through. "Potter, you can't be bringing dead bodies in here."

"She's not dead, trust me. Ask Dawlish." Harry said. "She's just- there's something strange."

Harry drew out his wand, aiming it at Tonks. " _Re_ _nnervate_."

Her eyes fluttered open, and Harry didn't know whether to feel relieved or not. They were her eyes, her dark grey that he had seen only a few times. She sat up quickly, panicked, and was on her feet just as fast, her back against the back wall of the cell. She looked exactly like she had when Harry had taken Andromeda to Hogwarts to claim the body- with the exception of a distinct lack of bruises or marks of battle.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Tonks, calm down." Harry said.

"I'm not going to calm down!" She snapped. "Who are you?"

"It's me, it's Harry- and Kingsley." Harry said slowly.

She was shaking her head frantically. "No, no it's not, you're too _old_!"

Kingsley laughed slightly behind Harry, and Harry smirked. "Well, technically, I'm only 3 years older than you right now." Harry said slowly. "We're gonna give you a minute, to calm down, alright?"

They left the cell. "That's not what I wanted to show you." Harry said to Kingsley. "When we first found her, she wasn't herself." He looked up and down the row of cells, and then nodded. "Right, we'll try Ron and Dad."

Kingsley followed Harry. They stopped outside the cell where James and Ron were. Ron was sitting on the bench, staring at the opposite wall, and his eyes were still blank. James was still unconscious.

"That's what I meant. Look at Ron's eyes."

Kingsley was silent for a minute. "And he doesn't know he's Ron?"

"I don't think so, no."

"And the others?"

"You saw it, most of them know." Harry explained. "And judging by Tonks' reaction, it's not going to be an easy adjust for most of them. I mean, I'm supposed to younger than her- and I'm definitely not. She probably expected to see me as 17. And my parents- I'm older than my own parents, Kingsley." Harry said, grimacing. "Remus seemed okay when I answered questions for him, but we can't be sure that the rest of them will be."

"If they are all becoming themselves again, we can't keep them locked up." Kingsley said. "It wouldn't be right,-"

"Kingsley, half their houses are gone. Mum and Dad's was destroyed. Andromeda sold their house, she lives in a one bedroom flat now. But-''

"We'll house them with other members of the Order. It could help them adjust."

"I was going to suggest something else." Harry said. "We take them all to Grimmauld."

"Sirius hated that house." Kingsley said with a frown.

"We need to help them adjust, Kingsley. And most of them know Grimmauld as Order Headquarters."

Kingsley nodded slowly. "And will Ginny be okay with this? I mean, you have four children living in Grimmauld, how will she react to this?"

"I should talk to her about it." Harry said. "We'll leave them here tonight. We're still missing Colin, his grave was empty as well."

* * *

"Harry, I don't know." Ginny said. "What if they're not the same people we knew? And the kids, _and Teddy_. How will they feel?"

"Teddy's the only one old enough to really understand who these people are, Gin."

"And how is he going to feel when his _parents_ walk through the door?" She asked.

"We can talk to him."

"And what if it's not really them? What if it is some terrible joke of some sort?" Ginny asked.

"I asked Remus questions, and he answered each and every one accurately." Harry answered.

Ginny sighed, sitting across from him at the table. "Harry, you've always told me that no spell awaken the dead. This shouldn't be possible, it shouldn't be _them._ "

Harry nodded. "I know, but I think it is."


	6. Chapter 6

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Harry barely slept that night. He had been distracted through the entire Quidditch game, he wasn't actually even sure who won. He was up hours before his usual time, and was heading down to the kitchen when he noticed the library door was open slightly, and there was a slight glow of a lamp.

He turned, pushing the door open slowly. Teddy was sitting at the desk, hunched over a book.

"Teddy?" Harry asked.

Teddy jumped, slamming the book closed. He stood quickly, facing Harry. "Wotcher, Harry." Teddy said casually.

"It's 3am." Harry began. "What- uh, what are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep." Teddy said quietly.

"So, you're reading?" Harry asked. "What were you reading?"

"It was nothing."

Harry reached over Teddy's head- he was lucky, for now, that Teddy was still short- and picked the book up. _Interview with the Inferi_ by _Gilderoy Lockhart_.

Harry resisted the urge to laugh. "Where did you get this?"

Teddy mumbled something.

"I can't hear you if you mumble."

"Hermione."

" _Hermione_ gave this to you?" Harry asked. "When?"

"Earlier, after you went back to the Ministry." Teddy said, staring at the carpet. "I asked her about what was going on, and she said maybe this book would explain it-"

 _Oh Merlin._ Harry thought to himself, sighing. _I'm going to have to yell at Hermione Granger._

"Teddy, why did Hermione give _this_ book to you?"

"She said maybe it'd explain what I saw earlier."

Harry sighed again. He knelt in front of Teddy. "What you saw earlier, Ted, it's going to be solved. Your mother is not an Inferius."

"Promise?" Teddy asked, staring at Harry.

"I promise." Harry said. He ruffled Teddy's hair, kissing the top of his head as he stood. While Teddy had reached the age of shooing Harry away when he did this, he didn't say a thing this time. "You should get some sleep, Teddy."

Teddy nodded, walking towards the door of the library.

"Teddy?"

Teddy turned to look at Harry. "Your parents miss you very much, you know."

* * *

And it was true. It was the first thing either of them demanded from Harry as soon as he reached the cells. Remus had asked for Tonks and Teddy, while Tonks asked for Remus and Teddy. At that moment, he almost began to dislike the cell designs the Ministry had- there were three thick concrete walls in the cells, and the doors were the bars. Harry realised that none of them must have known who all came back with them, except for Ron and James because they had been stuck together all night.

According to Dawlish, who had been working the night, Colin was found wandering confused and disoriented in Diagon Alley. How two of the four people buried in Hogwarts had been found in _London_ , Harry didn't understand.

He wasn't sure where the rest had been found, and made a mental note to ask. Perhaps there was a reason behind where everyone was found. But before he could do anything, he had to confront Hermione.

He knocked on her office door, and a moment later the door swung open. She was sitting at her desk, writing on a piece of parchment. She looked up, and before Harry could say anything, she spoke.

"What time were we in the boat house?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"At the battle." Hermione prompted. "Ron died nearly twenty minutes before we went to the boathouse. What time was that?"

"I don't know." Harry said. "Why?"

"I'm creating a timeline." Hermione said. "Of the people that returned. It's easy, for some of them. We know James died before Lily, and they were gone for nearly 15 years before Sirius died- and then we reach the battle, and I don't know what order the four died in."

"Colin would have been last." Harry said. "Neville said Colin died right before Voldemort called for the hour of peace."

"That leaves me with three deaths that we don't know. We only know Remus died before Tonks, because she was found laying over his body. But did Remus die before Ron, or did Tonks die before Ron? Or did Remus die, and then Ron, and then Tonks? Or was Ron before either one?"

"No, Remus was dead before Ron was."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"Going off of what Kingsley told me. Remus was one of the earliest losses."

Hermione nodded and scribbled it down. "So that leaves Tonks and Ron."

"Well, Tonks was- she was cold by the time they found her-"

"And Ron wasn't." Hermione said. "I remember Molly saying-"

"He's still warm, can't we save him?" Harry repeated, nodding slowly. "Tonks must have been before Ron. Which leaves Ron before Colin."

Hermione nodded again. "I'll double check their files and details of deaths to make sure this is right."

"Why do you need this?" Harry asked.

"Just a theory I have." Hermione responded simply. "Anyway, why'd you come?"

"I have an issue with the book you gave Teddy."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Harry stepped forward, dropping the book onto her desk with a loud thud. "Lockhart. You gave him a _Lockhart_ book. About Inferi. What is wrong with you?" Harry demanded, his voice a little louder than he expected. "He saw his dead mother yesterday, Hermione. Couldn't sleep last night because of it. And you gave him a book that basically called her an animated corpse! What on Merlin's Green Earth possessed you to do that? He's a kid, he shouldn't be reading these things! Even if they were written by an incompetent fraud!"

Hermione rose slowly. "Now you listen to me, Harry James Potter." She said, harshly. "He was terrified yesterday. He asked me what was going on, I said I wasn't sure. _He's_ the one who mentioned Inferi. Perhaps you should have cleaned that library better than you did, because he's read some terribly dark books in there. Don't you dare try to lay the blame on me. Did you even open this book? Read a single word it said? No? Of course not, _you don't read._ You're Harry Potter, why would you need to read? You can just get someone else to do the reading for you!"

Harry's eyes widened as she stepped around the desk, and she picked up the book.

"This book is the best thing for Teddy right now." Hermione continued. "It's literally called _Interview with an Inferi_. It doesn't describe them as they truly are, they're described like something out a Muggle Children's story. Capable of love, capable of feeling. Undead, but not violent and not deadly. Lockhart was a fraud, but honestly, Harry, at least _I_ tried to help Teddy yesterday."

"I tried-"

"You didn't. You sent him from the room like he was an infant. You're right, he saw his dead mother. He deserved an explanation. A _proper_ explanation."

"I didn't have one!" Harry said defensively. "What should I have said? 'Oh, Teddy, yeah, that's your dead mother, back from the grave, wearing the same bloody clothes as she was when we stuck her in the coffin!'?"

"You could have told him that someone did some Dark Magic, some unexplained Dark Magic. He was terrified! He knows far too much, from listening to _your_ stories. You need to give him credit, he could have understand if you had told him."

"Yet, you gave him an old fraud's book." Harry commented. He didn't have time to react when she swung the book, smacking him on the head with it. Not too hard, but hard enough for him to step back in shock.

"Read the damn book, Harry." She said, shoving it into his hands. "Go on! Open to any page, any page at all, and read a damned passage!"

Harry didn't want another smack, so he flipped open the book to a random page and began to read.

 _Despite what people have been saying about Inferi, I found that it's quite simple to interact with one. In fact, I became quite friendly with one! I can't take all the credit of course, but I'm sure my smile had something to do with it! The Inferius I met, who I shall call Gertrude, was in fact a very loving creature. She never knew who animated her corpse after her untimely death nearly ten years ago, but she definitely hasn't stop living since! I was happy to speak with her, and learn she even reconciled with her husband- and their children- from before her death. It's shame, really, I did feel like she was quite interested in me- but, it's no surprise. After all, I did win_ _Witch Weekly's_ _Most Charming Smile Award 3 times in a row. So far._

Harry closed the book, sighing. "I'm not sure what, or who, Lockhart was interviewing, but it wasn't an Inferius."

Hermione snorted. "I mean, it's probably not what happened. But perhaps Lockhart's lack of intelligent identifying of a creature could help. It's better than Teddy reading what Inferi _really_ are, because then there would be issues."

"They keep asking for him." Harry said. "I went down there, before I came here. Everyone's aware, and themselves. And all Remus or Tonks will ask about is each other or Teddy."

"You haven't let them see each other?" Hermione asked. "Not even your parents? Are they all separated?''

"Well, not all. We had to put Dad in with Ron-"

"Harry, let them see each other." Hermione said, frowning. "They deserve that much. Use the meeting room in the Auror department, have the Aurors escort them there. Let them all see each other, don't keep them locked up."

"We were planning on taking them all to Grimmauld. Ginny agreed, if they're themselves, they need somewhere to go, and we have the room."

"Right, but first, let them all interact with each other first. If they remain themselves when they're all together, then it's simple- take them to Grimmauld."

"And if they don't?" Harry asked.

"Azkaban, until we figure out what happened."


	7. Chapter 7

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Alecto screamed in frustration. What had gone wrong? Why did they become themselves, instead of remaining under _her_ control? She wanted Potter dead, and all _seven_ of her chances were gone. She read over the page for what felt like the umpteenth time. There had to be an answer, there just had to be.

She even turned the page, but it was just the next spell- until she noticed two pages were stuck together. _Oh, Merlin, what did she miss?_

She slowly unstuck the two pages, hoping they didn't tear. They didn't, but her frustration only grew when she read the pages. She had apparently missed the part where her control would wane if those being controlled were exposedto someone familiar, someone who knew them well. That had been her problem- they all knew each other, they all knew Potter. Of course her control was broken, she had sent Potter's friends after him.

If she wanted this to work, she needed to redo the spell- but with someone who hated Potter as much as she did. Or, she could take it a step further, and bring back someone who never even met Potter. Perhaps Muggles did have a use after death.

* * *

"Right." Harry said, looking at the Aurors he had gathered. "Magical Law Enforcement needs those holding cells empty. And, as it was pointed out to me, we can't keep them locked up forever. So far, from what a few of us have seen, this is real. These are people who have come back from the dead. Why, and how, we don't know. We might never know, but the fact remains, we can't keep them hidden forever. I'll be assigning a pair of you to each person, to escort up here to this meeting room. Try to use the lifts that don't directly pass the atrium, it'll be less crowded, and there's less of a chance of any outsider seeing this. Until we can issue a statement, we need to keep this quiet."

He listed off the pairs, and the times they'd go- he wanted each person moved separately, to draw as little attention as possible. And then he waited, because he figured perhaps a familiar face waiting for them would be the best thing.

Ron was the first one to be brought, and for a couple of moments, neither Harry nor Ron spoke. They just sat at the long table, staring at the other.

"This is bloody strange." Ron finally said.

"It's definitely not normal." Harry said.

"You're married, then." Ron said, pointing at Harry's hand.

"Yes." Harry said. "Three kids, youngest was born a few months ago."

"Hermione?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head and he could see Ron relax. He knew his next words would possibly change this very quickly. "I married Ginny." Harry said.

Whether or not Ron wanted to say anything, it didn't matter. The door opened again, and Tonks appeared with Dawlish and Williamson.

"Still an Auror, then?" Ron asked her.

Tonks shook her head as she sat down as well, and Dawlish and Williamson disappeared. "No, I'm- uh, well-"

"Like you, Ron." Harry said. "Tonks was killed and brought back as well."

"Oh." Ron said. "How?" He asked Tonks.

"Killing Curse, and you?"

"An explosion, a wall collapsed." Ron said.

"So we know the common factor isn't how you guys were killed." Harry said. "The dates of death aren't even a common factor-"

"How many others are there?" Tonks asked.

"Seven in total." Harry responded. "Four from the battle, and three from before the battle.''

"Harry, can I ask- how's Mum?" Tonks asked. "How did she-?"

"Handle things? Surprisingly well. She's living in London now, closer to us, so she can see Teddy as often as she likes." Harry explained.

Tonks frowned. "Living in London?" Tonks asked. "And Teddy's with you?"

"She got sick a couple years back." Harry explained. "And Teddy spent a lot of time with us anyway, we offered to take him in- and they both agreed. She sold the house shortly afterward."

"Sold it?" Tonks asked in disbelief. "But she lived there-"

"For nearly 40 years." Harry said. "I know, but I think she was struggling to continue living there alone, Tonks."

The door opened again and Tonks had moved Harry even spotted Remus.

"Dora!" Remus cried in relief as she collided with him, her arms around his neck. He stepped back from her, his hands on her waist. The Aurors that had been with Remus had slipped back out of the room with a nod at Harry. "Why were you there? I asked you to stay-" Remus began.

"I would have lost you if I had stayed, Remus." Tonks said.

"But Teddy lost us both."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"He's a good kid." Harry said. They turned to look at him, and sank into chairs.

"Tell us about him?" Tonks asked.

"He got his Hogwarts letter a few weeks ago, I'm sure he's already read all the textbooks already." Harry said. Tonks had smirked towards Remus, who shrugged back. "He loses control morphing sometimes still, but he's gotten really good at controlling it most of the time. It's useful when he can't control it, though, gives us an idea about how he's feeling."

"And otherwise? He's-" Remus began, and then broke off, and Tonks squeezed his hand gently.

"Do you need to track the moons?" Tonks asked.

"No." Harry said, and Remus smiled brightly.

"Can I just ask-" Ron began. "Who else died, and who else came back?"

"Over fifty people died in the Final Battle, but only four came back. You three, and Colin Creevey." Harry explained.

"You said that seven people came back." Tonks said, just as the door opened again.


	8. Chapter 8

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"Moony!" Sirius' loud voice boomed as Remus stood to accept a tight brotherly embrace from Sirius. He stepped around Remus, and stared at Harry. "Dawlish explained to me, and King spoke to me for a while last night. And I just- look at you, Harry."

Harry stood as Sirius spread his arms and Harry gratefully accepted a hug. "I'd say you look like your father, but you've probably-"

"Heard it too many times, yeah." Harry said with a smirk as they stepped apart.

"And Nymphadora." Sirius said. "Little over-dressed for work, aren't you?"

"Sirius." Harry said. "Everyone in this room, except for me, died."

Sirius looked around, and noticed Ron. "How?"

"Did Kingsley tell you about the battle?" Harry asked.

"Yes, he said four of the fifty were back, but he didn't say who." Sirius said. "How?" He asked again.

"Dolohov." Remus answered.

"I don't actually know who got me." Tonks said.

"A wall collapsed." Ron replied.

The door opened again, and this time Colin was brought in. He was a short boy, even for sixteen, and he looked at Harry with wide eyes that reminded Harry of second year.

"Dawlish, just bring the next two together? I think, even separately, they're bound to draw attention." Harry said to Dawlish, who gave him a nod and disappeared.

"Hiya, Colin." Harry said as Colin sank into a chair. "Did anyone speak with you last night?"

Colin nodded. "I think his name was John, he said."

"So, from what I'm hearing, one of two people spoke to most of you- either Dawlish or even Kingsley." Harry said slowly. "Now, we're waiting for two more people, and then-"

Harry broke off as the door opened and Hermione slipped in. "Harry, there you are!" She said. "I think I found something-" She froze, staring straight at Ron. "Ron."

Ron smiled a bit. "Hi, Hermione."

Hermione looked around. "Harry, where are-"

"They'll be here. I had my Aurors move them all separately, so we didn't draw attention to this situation." Harry explained.

" _Your_ Aurors?" Ron asked, and he and Sirius stared at Harry.

"I've been Head Auror for nearly five years." Harry said. "Dawlish is my Deputy."

"And you, Hermione?" Tonks asked. "You're not wearing Auror robes, so-"

"I'm head of the entire Magical Law Enforcement Department." Hermione explained.

"She's my boss." Harry said with a smirk.

"And? Are you married as well?" Tonks asked. "Or, are you two-" She asked, gesturing between them.

"No." Harry said quickly. "I married Ginny."

"I married Fred." Hermione added.

"Fred _Weasley_?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"Yes, we have a son and a daughter. Harry has two sons, and one daughter." Hermione said.

"And the others?" Ron asked.

"Bill and Fleur have three kids- two girls, one boy. Charlie hasn't married, but I do know Molly still hopes. Percy married a Muggle girl named Audrey, they have twin girls. George married Angelina, they have one boy and one girl. And of course, Teddy will spend nights with all of us every once in a while."

Sirius frowned. "Who's Teddy?"

"Our son." Remus said.

"Our son- as in-" Sirius began, looking at him and Tonks. "I bloody knew you two were shagging!"

"No, Sirius, we weren't. Believe me, we were not." Tonks said quickly.

"Oh, really? Then who is Teddy?" Sirius challenged.

"They weren't together until 1997." Hermione said as Remus' cheeks were slowly getting more red and she wanted to cut off the impending- and very awkward- conversation. "Teddy was born in April of 1998."

Harry cleared his throat. "Remus, Sirius, I did want to warn you before the next two came in." Harry said. "Four of you came back after dying at the same battle. Sirius came back after dying in 1996. And my parents came back as well."

"No, they didn't." Remus said.

"Yes, they did." Harry said. At that moment, the door opened one last time, and James and Lily Potter walked into the room.

Sirius and Remus rose slowly, silently staring at the pair.

"Prongs." Sirius said, his voice a quiet whisper. "Lily."

James gave Sirius a half smile. "Hi, Pads. Hi, Moony."

Sirius and Remus rushed around the table, clutching the pair in tight hugs. Hermione was smiling, watching Sirius clutching at James' face, memorising it- as if it were a dream and James would vanish. And Lily was fussing over Remus' scars, new one she hadn't seen.

And then they saw Harry. Sirius and Remus let them walk by, and they stood in front of Harry, smiling.

"Harry, you're not the boy I remember." Lily said, holding out her arms. Harry stepped forward, accepting the hug from his parents. It was nice- it was something he always wished for.

He had his parents, and Teddy had his- and the Weasleys had Ron, and Andromeda had her daughter back, and Dennis would get Colin back. And Remus and Sirius and James all had each other.

Everything was okay, Harry knew it.


	9. Chapter 9

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"I know this is strange." Harry said, looking around at them all. "I'm not even sure how _I_ feel about this yet."

"Well, I feel confused." Sirius said. "You're older than half of us, and it should be the other way around-"

"Well he's not older than you." Tonks commented.

Lily snorted.

"Right." Harry said. "I should be the youngest one here, aside from Colin. Instead, you have all skipped out on decades of aging. So, leaving _that_ behind-"

"Can we see our families?" Colin piped up.

"I am going to plan for that, Colin, yes." Harry said. "However, there have been significant changes since your deaths, and people have agreed with me that perhaps we need to keep you all together so we can help you adapt."

"We think it's best that you all remain in location." Hermione said.

"Not St Mungo's, right?" Sirius asked. "Or Azkaban?"

"I promise, no Azkaban and no St Mungo's." Harry said.

"However, I do think perhaps a Healer seeing all of you might be beneficial. Give us an idea about what your current conditions might be." Hermione interjected. "Of course, we'll wait a couple of days, let you settle at Grimmauld-"

"Grimmauld?" Sirius asked, his face darkening. "No, Harry, don't-"

"It's where I live. " Harry explained. "The boys share a room, Lily- _my_ Lily has a room beside Gin and I. Teddy's in Sirius' old room, but there are plenty of rooms left empty."

"I'm not living there again." Sirius said.

"It's been changed." Harry said. "We got it entirely Dark Magic free, the portrait of your mother is in the attic-"

"You got rid of it?" Tonks asked. "How?"

Harry nodded. "Took a while, but Teddy kept disturbing it so we had to blast the damned thing off the wall. Took a while to fix the wall there, but-"

"Teddy kept disturbing it?" Remus asked, smirking. "Sound familiar?" He asked, looking at Tonks.

"To be fair, umbrella stands were not involved." Harry continued.

"I'm sorry." Lily interrupted. "Who's Teddy?"

"Moony had a son. With Nymphadora." Sirius said with a wicked grin.

Lily's face lit up and James grinned too. "Well, Remus, I knew you'd find a nice girl." Lily said simply.

"She's not a nice girl." Sirius said, earning a kick from Tonks beneath the table. "Proves my point right there." Sirius commented, reaching down to rub his shin.

"Well, I like her." Lily decided. "And Harry, what about you? Who's Gin?"

"My wife." Harry said. "We have three kids in total. James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna."

"I'm sorry." James said. " _Albus Severus_?"

Sirius frowned. "You named your kid after _Snivellus_?" Sirius asked.

"Sirius!" Lily scolded.

"No, it's alright." Harry said calmly. "Snape helped me out quite a bit during the last year of the war."

Remus, Ron and Tonks stared at him in confusion.

"Harry, he killed Dumbledore." Ron said. "You must be barmy."

"It's a long story, one I will explain later."

"And what happened to Sev? After the war?" Lily asked.

"He was killed by Voldemort."

"Snape's dead?" Ron asked.

"Yes." Hermione said. "After you were-uh, killed, we had to find where Voldemort was and find the last Horcrux-"

"The last _what_?" Remus asked.

"We'll explain later." Harry responded. "We found Voldemort in the boat house. He ordered Nagini to kill Snape, because he thought Snape was master of the Elder Wand."

"Wasn't he?" Ron asked, frowning.

Harry shook his head. "Draco was, and when I disarmed Draco- I was."

"I'm sorry, what's the Elder Wand?" Tonks asked.

"From the story." Colin said. "The Tale of the Three Brothers."

"Those are kids' stories." Tonks said.

"The objects given to the brothers are real. The cloak, the stone and the wand. I still have the cloak." Harry said, with a grin to James.

"My cloak was-"

"A Deathly Hallow, yes." Harry responded. "And Dumbledore had the Elder Wand until he died, and Draco disarmed Dumbledore- it was Draco's."

"And the stone?" Ron asked. "Maybe that's why we're back."

"Oh!" Hermione said, jumping up and picking up a roll of parchment. "Now that we're back at that topic, I found a book earlier."

"Of course you did." Ron commented.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. "It's very Dark Magic, similar to Inferi-"

"According to you, though, those aren't very dark at all." Harry mumbled. Hermione turned to him, smacking him on the head with the roll of parchment in her hand.

"Honestly, you two have not changed. At least Ron has an excuse!" Hermione said.

"Alright, what did you find?" Harry asked.

"It's similar to Inferi." Hermione repeated, giving Harry a dirty look. "The person that raises the dead has control of those they bring back. Which would have explained how all of you looked when you first arrived."

"How did we look?" James asked.

"Well..." Hermione said. "Dead."

"Dead, how?" Sirius asked.

"Well, you all looked like yourselves. But your eyes were blank, it was quite creepy." Hermione said. "But this spells, it loses it's strength if the controller lets the dead get near familiar people or places. And from what we saw with Sirius' reaction to seeing Harry the first time yesterday, you were all supposed to target him."

"Wait, what did I do yesterday?" Sirius asked.

"You tried to strangle me, and Remus helped." Harry explained.

"You tried to strangle Harry _Potter_." Tonks said to Remus.

"Well, Tonks, _you_ tried to break Dawlish's arm." Harry said. "Hermione, is there a way to find who did this?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing we can do, anyway. We have to rely on if anyone here remembers anything." She said, and then glanced at the parchment. "There is just one problem, Harry."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Harry, the spell isn't meant to be permanent."


	10. Chapter 10

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"What do you mean, it's not meant to be permanent?" Remus asked.

"No spell can raise the dead." Hermione said slowly. "Not permanently, anyway."

Harry exhaled. "You said it's not _meant_ to be permanent. Maybe we can find something make it so." He said simply.

"Harry..." Hermione said.

"Let's focus on what's in front of us right now, Hermione." Harry said. "I have a few questions, and then we should go over to Grimmauld."

"Teddy's there, right?" Tonks asked eagerly.

"He is, but I still have to sit and my kids down to discuss the situation. So, he's over at the Burrow until tomorrow with Molly and Arthur. I'll go over tomorrow morning, to explain the situation to them and Teddy, and James. Al is still young enough that he won't even remember anything that I have said about any of you. James might only remember the basics, but he might know enough to be confused. I'll explain it to Arthur and Molly, Hermione can talk to Fred and George and Angelina and their kids. Hopefully Molly and Arthur can get in touch with Charlie, but they'll talk to Bill and Percy at least. And that would cover your family, Ron, and them knowing you're back. Tonks, for your mother- that won't be an easy situation."

"Nothing with my mother is easy, Harry."

"Yeah, I've learned that. I figure, possibly, the best course of action would be to just show her. Have her come over, just show her."

"That might not be too smart, either." Tonks said. "She likes to curse first, ask questions later."

"Good to know where you got that." Remus mumbled, receiving a dirty look from Tonks.

"Right." Harry said. "We'll figure something out, then. Mum, Aunt Petunia's still alive but that's up to you if you want to see her again or not."

Lily looked a little uncomfortable. "I'm not sure." She said. "We didn't exactly get along for a while there."

"Right. Like I said, up to you." Harry said. "Dad, you don't-"

"I figured my folks would be gone." James said. "They were kind of old.''

"Colin, we'll send an owl to find you brother and your parents, they actually moved to America a few years ago." Harry continued. "Remus, you-"

"I didn't have family left. Maybe some cousins, but no one close." Remus responded.

Harry exhaled and nodded. "Sirius, you've got the Malfoys and Andromeda. I can already guess that you don't want to see the Malfoys."

"You're damn right I don't." Sirius responded. "Although, I'm not too sure on seeing Andy again, she can't have gotten sweeter with age."

"So, we're going to have a more thorough conversation with reuniting you with the rest of your families. Obviously, Ron's will be easy." Harry said. "But, I also realise we can't have your families seeing you... looking as you currently do."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well... How can I say this nicely?" He asked, looking at Hermione.

"Well..." Hermione started slowly. "You don't look... _well._ The idea that the dead have returned- that alone will freak people out. You're wearing the clothes you were all buried in- with the exception of Sirius, who wasn't buried _at all_. And quite frankly, anyone who does know _any of you_ is going to expect someone older, not these versions of you."

"To be fair, I think they'll expect us to be dead." James said, shrugging.

"Right, anyway, Ginny has robes and clothes that will fit Mum and Tonks. For the rest of you, however. My clothes might fit you, Dad. _Possibly_ Remus. They'll be too long for you, Sirius, and Colin for sure. Ron, I might have something for you. We'll go back to Grimmauld, we'll organise things a bit, and go from there. But first, I do have to ask some of you about when you died."

"So," Harry began uncertainly, staring around them. "I need to ask if any of you remembers anything now. Anything new. Anything I wouldn't have known."

"Like what?" Tonks asked. "We don't know what you know."

"Okay, uh, I know how Ron died. I know how Sirius died, and Mum and Dad. I don't know how you, Remus or Colin died." Harry said. "Let's start there. How did it feel? When it happened?"

''I remember pain." Colin said. "Even though it was a Killing Curse, it really hurt- I thought those were painless."

"They are." Harry said. "They should be."

"I felt pain too." Tonks said, looking at Colin. "It lasted for a long time, it wasn't-"

"Instantaneous." Colin finished. "Like it was supposed to be. Kind of like someone was-"

"Tearing your chest apart?" Tonks asked. Colin nodded.

"It only stopped when-"

"-when you woke up." Tonks finished. Colin nodded again.

Harry looked between them. "Right. The rest of you. Do you remember pain?" Harry asked. "Ron? Mum? Dad? Anything?"

"Mate, I was crushed by a wall." Ron said. "I definitely felt it."

James and Lily exchanged looks. "We didn't feel anything. It _was_ instantaneous for us." Lily said. "Remus?"

"I wasn't hit with a Killing Curse." Remus said. "I figured the pain was from that."

"What was it, then?" Harry asked, frowning. They had all said death was painless- but not Remus. Remus had said _"And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over."-_ had Remus suffered?

"Dolohov's creation, the one he tried to use on Hermione." Remus explained. "It felt like my chest was getting ripped open, almost like 6 months of transformations at one moment."

It was silent for a long moment.

"I didn't feel a thing." Sirius said. "Just... nothing."

Harry nodded. "So the only ones that felt anything were those of you that died at the final battle, and two of those were Killing Curses."

"Did anyone else hear the voice?" Ron asked. Everyone turned to look at him. "You know, the voice saying to kill Harry."

Remus, Tonks and Colin were the only ones who nodded.

"You three didn't?" Harry asked his parents and Sirius. They shook their heads. "Maybe there's a reason for that."

"And we came up on the eleventh anniversary of their deaths." Sirius added. "Specifically, _their_ deaths. Why not eleven years to James and Lily's deaths, or eleven to mine? Why May 2nd?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. We have to find the person who was controlling you at first. Perhaps whoever it was couldn't do it eleven years from Mum and Dad's deaths. Maybe they didn't plan this until after the war."

"I have a different question." Tonks said. "How did Sirius come back?"

"The same way as the rest of you, I suppose." Harry said, frowning.

"Harry, there was no body." Tonks said. "His body was lost to the veil. We had no body to bury. So how did they bring Sirius back?"

"How did they bring back the rest of you properly? Eleven years buried, and none of you looked it. In Mum and Dad's cases, 28 years buried, and they don't look it. I think, first, we need to just go to Grimmauld. And make our next move from there."

"Harry." Tonks interrupted. "Did anyone else come back? Other than us?"

Harry looked at her, and after a moment spoke again. "Your father didn't come back, Tonks, I'm sorry."

Tonks nodded slowly, looking down at her lap. "Of course, no, I was just hoping."

"We do have to figure out what to do about full moon." Remus said after a moment. "When is it?"

"Uh..." Harry began. He honestly had no clue.

"Five days." Hermione responded.

Remus frowned. "That can't be right."

Hermione tilted her head at him. "It's right, Remus." She said. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I don't feel like I usually do." Remus said quietly. "I don't feel like I usually do."


	11. Chapter 11

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

They walked through the atrium, towards the fireplaces.

"Ah, Auror Potter. I was coming to your office." Lucius' snide voice said as he approached the group. "I had heard the rumours." He remarked, looking at the group.

"We're investigating it right now, Malfoy. _If_ it was a Dark Wizard, and I'm sure it was, we'll find out. And we'll find _everyone_ who was involved." Harry added, staring down Lucius during the last few words.

"You honestly think that rogue Death Eaters would bring back _this_ lot? Surely even the non-reformed have standards." Lucius commented. "Perhaps it was someone _closer_ to them that did it, Potter. After all, why would a Death Eater bring back two students, a _werewolf_ and a Mudblood?"

Harry felt himself get shoved as James, Tonks and Sirius rushed at Lucius. He wasn't sure who hit what on Lucius, but he was on the floor in two seconds, clutching his chest and a bleeding nose. Remus had rushed forward to restrain Tonks, Lily and Ron had grabbed Sirius and James.

"What the Bloody Hell, you guys?" Harry demanded. "You can't go hitting people!"

"He deserved it." James said, shaking off Lily's hand. He looked at Tonks and Sirius and then grinned wickedly, exchanging high fives with them. "Remus, I like her, very much."

Remus rolled his eyes, letting go of Tonks' arm. He stepped over to Malfoy, grabbing his arm and helping him stand. "Even werewolves can be good people, Lucius. I always hoped you'd learn that." Remus said.

"You'll regret that." He spat at Tonks, Sirius and James.

"The only thing we'll regret is not hitting you harder, Malfoy." Sirius responded.

"You guys are seriously going to get me fired if you do this again." Harry said as Lucius stalked off. He exchanged a glance with Hermione, but she had her face covered with a hand, trying not to laugh.

* * *

Harry was almost happy that the most exciting thing to happen the last couple days was this, and only this. Usually when one thing took most of the Auror Department's attention, then ten more things would happen that would need them as well.

He had a few Aurors working with other departments to try and find out what happened and why, and he had convinced the group to go with him and Hermione to St Mungo's temporarily, just to talk with Healers.

"You can go back to the Ministry if you'd like." Harry said to Hermione as they sat beside each other in an empty room.

"I'm not technically supposed to be there, you are." Hermione said casually. "But as your boss, I'm allowing you leave to take care of this."

Harry smirked. "Well, that's very generous of you, thank you." He commented as the door opened and a Healer entered with Tonks, Colin and Ron.

"We're still looking at the others, because they've been dead much longer, with the exception of Mr Lupin. He said he doesn't feel the usual symptoms leading up to a full moon?" The Healer asked Harry.

"Right, he told me at the Ministry, after we told him when the next full moon was." Harry explained. "Is that normal?"

"Is any of this normal, Auror Potter?" The Healer asked. "But, as we've found so far, they are all completely healthy. It's like they were never dead. No signs of trauma with Mr Weasley, no obvious signs that Mrs Lupin or Mr Creevey were cursed at all."

"Should we have Remus take Wolfsbane anyway, just in case?" Hermione asked.

"Five days isn't enough, it has be a full week." Tonks spoke up. "It won't be effective."

"She's right." The Healer said. "I would suggest perhaps he stays here until the moon wanes-"

"No." Harry said quickly. "That's _six_ days. I told them no one would be getting locked up. That's going to include Remus. He'll be coming to stay with me, like the others."

"Auror Potter, with all due respect, werewolves _will_ kill. You're willing to let him into your home, with your kids-"

It took Harry a minute to really understand what had happened. One minute, the Healer was standing in front of him, the next he was on his side, on the floor and clutching his jaw. It was only when he saw Tonks' outstretched fist, he understood.

"Tonks!" Hermione cried, clasping a hand over her mouth. Ron looked to be struggling to contain his laughter, and Colin just looked startled.

"Seriously, Tonks? You can't just keep hitting people!" Harry said, helping the Healer stand, and the Healer shook him off quickly, glaring at Tonks.

"Did you hear what he was saying?" She demanded. "He wants to lock Remus up! Like a bloody criminal!"

"That's not what he said, Tonks." Hermione said slowly, grabbing the other woman's shoulder. "He had a point. Werewolves can't control themselves if they don't have Wolfsbane."

Harry braced himself, almost expecting Tonks to take a swing at Hermione, but she didn't. Possibly because Hermione had a wand and Tonks didn't, and the older-but-should-be-younger witch could have easily defended herself.

* * *

"Ginny?" Harry called as they all gathered in the kitchen. There were footsteps on the kitchen stairs and Ginny appeared- obviously older than the 16 year old most of them remembered. Ron was staring at her, shocking that his younger sister was almost as tall as him.

She spotted Ron, and Colin, and Tonks and Remus. And she grinned. "So, it was true!" She said, rushing forward to grab Ron in a hug. She threw her arms around Colin next, and then Tonks and Remus. "I almost expected it to actually be Death Eaters, but this is much better!"

She spotted James, Lily and Sirius. "You're his parents." She said, grinning.

"And you're his wife." James said as Lily happily rushed forward to hug Ginny.

"Wow, Harry, you _really_ do look like your Dad." Ginny said, looking between Harry and James. "Except, you know, now he's-"

"Younger, yeah." Harry responded. "Anyway, I would ask if any of you are tired, but I suspect you're not. We can have tea, I'll make dinner in a bit, we'll catch up on what you've missed. But first, Ginny, we'll have to go through our closet to find some clothes for them. Let them get cleaned up, let them relax."

* * *

"Oh I forgot about this." Ginny said, pulling an old Weird Sisters t-shirt from the box. "Teddy likes the Weird Sisters." She said to Tonks. "It's such a shame we never got to take him to a concert."

"Why not?" Tonks asked. "Surely they're still touring?"

Ginny shook her head. "Tonks, three of the members died years ago. The others just went their separate ways."

Tonks' jaw dropped, as if Ginny had uttered the worst insult one could have possibly said.

"Anyways." Ginny said, turning back to the box. "I'm sure I have clothes that will fit. Unfortunately, my jeans may be a bit long on you, Tonks, but it'll be close enough."

"Can I ask you something, Gin?" Tonks asked.

"Sure." Ginny said, pausing to look at Tonks.

"I was only around for Teddy's first moon, but he seemed... fussy. Is he- is he completely alright?" She asked.

"Sometimes he can't sleep, but that's not even just a problem he has on full moons. It's sometimes for a week at a time." Ginny said. "Like Bill, he likes his steak a little... raw? Sometimes he gets pretty bad headaches on full moon, he gets a little cranky, but nothing really extreme."

"What do he look like?" Tonks asked.

Ginny stood heading towards the shelf in the room. "He looks like Remus. It took us a few years to find any pictures from Remus' childhood to compare it too, but he doesn't look too much like your side of the family.

* * *

Remus paused, taking a couple steps backwards, to see Tonks standing and staring at the mirror above the dresser in the room Harry had pointed out for them.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, entering and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I can't morph." She responded. "I try, and nothing."

"Well, it's been a stressful couple of days, right? Maybe that's why.'' Remus offered, running a hand over her dark curls. "The last year- or, the year the war ended- was stressful, you didn't morph for most of it."

"I wonder why." She said dryly.

"Perhaps it makes sense." Remus said. "If I won't transform, and Sirius tried to become Padfoot earlier- but couldn't- maybe those parts of us are gone."

"What if I don't want it gone?" Tonks asked, turning to look at him. "Being a Metamorphmagus is who I am."

"No, it's not." Remus said quietly. "You're so much more than your abilities, Dora."

"You're just saying that because you're relieved that you haven't been feeling symptoms." She accused.

He smiled. "I'd be lying if I said that wasn't true."

She smiled. "So if you're not feeling any symptoms,-"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"-and perhaps if you don't transform-"

"Mhm?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, but was willing to let her finish her thoughts.

"I've always wanted a romantic walk in the light of the full moon." She said.

"It's a date."


	12. Chapter 12

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

 ** _Also, this chapter will contain adult talk._**

 ** _And turned out very long. Oops._**

* * *

Early the next morning, which was supposed to be one of Harry's days off, he was awake in the kitchen when Lily and James appeared, fully dressed.

"Were you even here all night?" Harry asked, watching as they removed cloaks.

"No." James said with a grin. "We left shortly after everyone else fell asleep, ended up wandering around London all night."

"Why?"

"It was nice out." Lily responded. "We've missed so much, Harry, it was nice to see everything."

James sat down at the table. "Did you know Muggles have telephones that they can carry in their pockets?" James asked.

Lily nodded. "It's so interesting! I remember that your Dad and I had a phone- but it wasn't so small."

"Yeah..." Harry said. "They're called cellphones."

"Huh." Lily said thoughtfully.

"I have the day off today, and tomorrow, so I can show you all these type of things. Muggles have been creating very interesting technology lately." Harry said. "I need to get to the Burrow, get Teddy or I'm not going to hear the end of it from Remus or Tonks."

James smirked. "He's got this new attitude." He commented. "It's a Moony I've never seen."

"It's nice, James." Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "And you can't pretend you weren't the same way when Harry was born. Or even right before, you were so-"

"Dashingly irresistible?" James asked, wiggling an eyebrow. "I happen to remember-"

Harry felt his cheeks begin to turn red. "Right!" He said loudly. "I'll just be going."

* * *

Harry held tightly to Teddy's shoulder as the kitchen of Grimmauld Place appeared again. He had sent a patronus ahead for Ginny to bring Remus and Tonks to wait in the library for when he arrived.

They stepped out of the fireplace together. "Alright, Teddy, are you ready?" He asked, leading Teddy up the stairs and to the library.

Teddy grabbed Harry's hand, stopping him from opening the library door. "Uncle Harry, they're okay, right?" Teddy asked, frowning.

"They're exactly the people I remember." Harry promised. "So are you ready to meet your parents?"

Teddy's hair faded to his natural brown, and Harry was suddenly aware of how much Teddy resembled Remus. He nodded and Harry opened the door.

Tonks and Remus stood there, clutching hands.

"Remus, Tonks, let me introduce you- again- to your son." Harry said. Teddy just stared at the carpet.

"He definitely looks like Remus." Tonks commented. Harry spotted Teddy finally looking up, and his hair flashed blue as he smiled slightly.

"And there's the confirmation." Remus said. "That's our boy."

Teddy stepped forward a couple steps. "Hi." He said quietly, looking at his parents.

Tonks was the first to move. She practically ran the few steps between them, dropping to her knees in front of Teddy and grabbing him tightly in a hug. "Teddy, _my_ Teddy- I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left, I should have never gone." She said, breaking down into tears.

"Dora." Remus said, his voice thick with emotion. "Dora, you'll strangle the poor boy."

"I swear to Merlin, Remus. I _will_ send you back to your grave if you tell me to stop hugging our son." Tonks snapped, her voice slightly muffled because her face was buried in Teddy's hair. Remus gave a slight laugh, but he stepped forward and knelt down as well, wrapping his arms around his wife and son.

And Harry, feeling extremely uncomfortable at the thought of standing here watching them reunite, slipped out of the library.

* * *

That night things changed. Colin missed dinner, but Ron said that Colin had said he was just tired.

Slowly, but surely, the conversation turned to the married couples reflecting on their children. And from there, it went somewhere that left Head Auror Harry completely red in the face.

"I always wanted a daughter after Harry." Lily commented.

"Dora wanted a daughter from the very beginning." Remus said. "The day she told me, she started in on what girl names she wanted to use."

"Well, the names don't _have_ to go to waste, Remus." Tonks said, smiling.

"You two wouldn't seriously-" Sirius began.

"Why not?" Lily asked. "I think it'd be really nice to have more children, myself."

"It's a shame we lost our dining room table." James commented quietly. "Perhaps we can visit the cottage and retrieve it-"

"No, no, it wouldn't have been the table, James." Lily said. "It had to have been the couch. I remember very clearly-"

Harry had removed his glasses and was rubbing his eyes. This was not something he needed to hear, and he was hoping against hope that it wasn't what they actually meant.

"I don't think it was the couch." James said, shaking his head. "Because the table-"

"No, it was the couch." Lily said. "I'm very sure of it."

"I wonder if Mum kept the sitting room couch, Remus." Tonks said thoughtfully.

Harry was relieved that when he placed his glasses on again, he was not the only one red in the face. Sirius was only a little red in the face, but Ron was the same shade of his hair. Remus had a slight flush to his cheeks, and he was staring at the table intently. Harry coughed loudly, hoping this would distract his parents and Tonks from the conversation.

"I think-" Lily said finally. "-I'll go check on Colin. He was such a friendly boy, it seems strange that he hasn't joined us." She stood, slipping from the kitchen.

"Well, that was a conversation that had potential to scar Harry." Sirius commented.

Harry smirked. "I already have enough scars, so maybe we won't go there." He said.

"I think I'll go see if Lily needs help." Tonks said, also leaving the kitchen.

Remus exhaled slowly. "She has a knack for conversations that shouldn't be had." He said.

"Well, I think there's one we do have." James said, leaning forward. "Remus, Sirius and I had a bet."

Remus shook his head slowly. "Please don't."

"I said 30. Padfoot said 40. Now, you were 37." James said. "So we need to figure out who won?"

"I think it's obvious who won." Sirius said with a smirk at Remus.

"Ah yes, Remus finally shagged a woman. We have living proof upstairs. Living proof that Remus slept with Nymphadora Tonks. Oddly enough, that's similar to what I wanted to name Harry."

* * *

"Lily?" She called, knocking on the door. Lily opened the door, looking a little worried.

"He's really sick." She said, opening the door. Tonks slipped into the room. Colin was pale, laying on the bed.

"What's going on?" Tonks asked Lily.

"Fever, he threw up a while ago." She explained. Both women sat on either side of Colin.

"Colin? Are you feeling better, at all?" Lily asked, running a hand over his pale forehead. Colin shook his head.

"I can go see if there are any fever potions." Tonks said. "Ginny must keep some around."

"I'll come with you, we'll see what we can find." Lily said, following her out into the hall. They were searching through the first bathroom when Lily spoke again. "I did want to ask something, Tonks."

"Oh?"

"Since you came back, are you feeling... different?" Lily asked.

Tonks studied her face for a moment and then her eyes widened. "Oh!" She said. "I wouldn't say different, exactly."

"You haven't felt-"

"Lily, I had a baby days before I died." Tonks said, as they continued looking through the potion bottles in the cupboard. "It had been nearly three months before that. I was feeling a little deprived."

"So you and Remus- you have-"

"Haven't you and James?"

"Oh, definitely." Lily said, smiling a bit. "And I won't lie to you, because it'll be between us girls, it wasn't very good."

"Kind of rushed?" Tonks asked.

"More like, extremely rushed." Lily said, her cheeks growing red.

"I get it." Tonks said. "Remus was a little... how can I be nice about this? He was acting as if a Death Eater was waiting outside the door to get us."

Lily snorted. "James acted like it was his first time!" She said, giggling.

Tonks laughed. "Well, it has been a very long time."

"Was it usually rushed between you two?" Lily asked. "You know, during the war?"

"No." Tonks said, with a smile. "No, he gave me complete control. Last night might have actually been the first time I let him have control."

Lily nodded thoughtfully. "James always asked a lot of questions, honestly. But not last night. We barely spoke last night."

"I'm not sure Remus said a single thing until afterwards, honestly." Tonks said, picking up a bottle. She frowned.

"Fever potion?" Lily asked.

"No. Wolfsbane." Tonks said, looking at Lily. "The Order didn't leave any here. I remember, I searched the place myself a a few months before Teddy was born."

"Perhaps you overlooked it." Lily offered.

Tonks turned the bottle over, looking for a date. On the label, in tiny writing, she found it: _Brewed May 1st, 2009_.

"It was only just brewed." Tonks said. "But why?"

Lily picked up another bottle. "Well, I found the fever potion. Bring that with, we'll ask Harry afterwards."

"You don't think he lied to us, about Teddy?" Tonks asked as they headed back to Colin's room.

"I don't know him well enough to say, I'm sorry." Lily said gently.


	13. Chapter 13

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Harry sat at the table, not making eye contact. "I didn't think I'd have to tell you." He said quietly.

"Tell us what?" Tonks demanded. "Why is there Wolfsbane in this house?"

"There's been- uh, incidents." Harry said quietly.

Remus looked sick. He had sunk into a chair, his head in his hands.

"What kind of incidents?" Tonks asked.

"When I said he wasn't a werewolf, I wasn't lying."

"What kind of incidents?" Tonks repeated, her tone harsh.

"He has transformed before." Harry said quietly.

"What?" Remus' voice was anguished.

"How many times?" Tonks asked, her voice trembling.

"A couple times a year, at most. He takes the Wolfsbane monthly, just to be safe." Harry answered. "It's why Andromeda can't care for him anymore. He attacked her, because we don't get warnings if it's going to be one of the months. There's no pattern, no warnings."

Remus stood quickly, knocking aside his chair angrily.

"Remus-" Tonks began reaching for his arm.

"Didn't I say it?" Remus demanded. "I cursed my own son!"

He stormed from the kitchen, and a minute later, they heard the door slam.

"Tonks, I'm sorry." Harry said quietly.

Tonks realised then that she was crying. She just shook her head, wiping the tears and headed upstairs. She headed for Colin's room, meeting Lily outside of the library.

"Is he doing better?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"No." Lily said quietly. "Are you alright?"

She looked at Lily, and then her resolve crumbled. Lily wrapped her arms tightly around Tonks as she sunk to the floor, clutching at Lily and sobbing.

* * *

James and Sirius were heading up the stairs when they heard the crying. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, they spotted Lily holding a sobbing Tonks.

Lily looked up at them. "Go get Remus. And kick his arse." She said.

They turned, promptly heading back down the stairs and out of the house. "You know, there's only one place a wandless wizard would be able to get to from here." Sirius said as they walked down the street.

"Where's that?" James asked.

"Where did I meet you guys on summer full moons?" Sirius asked.

James sighed. "Vernon Square Campus."

"There's irony in there, somewhere." Sirius remarked as they set off towards the familiar place.

And Sirius was right. It took them a while to walk over the few blocks, and they were sure he hadn't been there very long before they arrived. He was sitting quietly on the stairs leading to the school's doors.

"You know, last time we saw you like this, you had a fag in your mouth." James remarked.

"I might still have some." Sirius said. "If I were wearing my own clothes and not Harry's, anyway."

Remus didn't say anything and they sank onto the steps on either side of him.

"You know what we're going to say." James said.

"And you know _how_ we're going to say it." Sirius added.

"I'm not leaving forever." Remus said quietly.

"You shouldn't have left at all." Sirius said quickly. "I don't know what happened, but you've destroyed her. Again."

"Isn't that what I do best? Since the day I met her, I've done nothing but destroy her." Remus said, dropping his head into his hands. James looked at Sirius with a questioning glance.

Sirius nodded, and mouthed _'He did'._

"Listen, mate, whatever it is-" James began.

"-we're here for you." Sirius finished quickly.

"Teddy's a werewolf." Remus mumbled.

Sirius and James exchanged shocked glances. "I thought it wasn't possible. Didn't Harry say that he wasn't?" Sirius asked.

"Harry lied." Remus said. "He transforms sometimes, not every month- but I cursed my _own son_."

"And leaving isn't the answer to that." James said gently. "Come on, there's nothing you can do now."

"There is one thing he can do." Sirius said. "He can march back home, and face Tonks' wrath. And then he can help Teddy. If Teddy's transforming, the best thing for him might be someone else who knew the pain."

Remus nodded, and James and Sirius pulled him to his feet. "Are we still going to kick his arse?" James asked Sirius.

"Nah, we'll let Tonks do it." Sirius answered.

* * *

"Tonks, I know you must be angry." Harry said. "Even if I can't exactly tell." He added, gesturing to her still brown hair.

"I'm not mad, Harry. Not at you, anyway." She said quietly, fixing the covers covering Colin. She stood and faced Harry. "I'm kind of mad at myself, you know?"

"Yourself?" Harry asked as they stepped out into the hallway.

"We should have been more careful. The pregnancy should have never happened."

"You can't mean that?" Harry asked.

"I do, though. I'm not saying I'm upset that it happened. I love Teddy, I do. But I'm angry at myself for putting him through this, without us."

"He had Andromeda." Harry offered. "And me. And all of the Weasleys."

Tonks stepped towards Harry, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Harry. For taking my son when I couldn't."

"I know you want to see your mother." Harry said as stepped back. "She usually comes by the morning of the full moon. You two can reunite tomorrow morning." Harry said.

Tonks nodded. "Okay, yeah. Maybe just take her wand first."


	14. Chapter 14

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

 ** _I totally uploaded the wrong version of this._**

 ** _I'm so sorry lmfao_**

* * *

"Right, so she's going to be beyond pissed." Sirius said. "I bet anything-"

He broke off, seeing her standing at the end of the hall. And he was right. She looked pissed.

"Dora-" Remus began, stepping forward towards her.

She landed a good punch to his chest, catching him off guard. He stumbled back, shocked. But she wasn't done. She advanced him, slapping him sharply across the face. And while Sirius would have stepped back and just watched, he figured the best thing right now would be for them to talk it out.

"Why the Bloody Hell do you always run?" She demanded, landing another hit on his chest. "What the absolute Hell is that going to solve?"

Sirius stepped forward. "Alright, I think we should just-"

He broke off as she landed a very well aimed kick. Remus stumbled, clutching at his upper thigh, leaning against the wall.

"Dora, I'm trying to-"

"I don't care!" She yelled, advancing on him again, but this time Sirius wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away. James planted himself between them and Remus, as Tonks struggled against Sirius, yelling swears that Sirius was convinced didn't exist before this moment.

"This isn't working." Sirius finally decided, throwing Tonks over his shoulder and carrying her from the hallway. He carried her down to the kitchen before setting her down.

"Damn it, Sirius!" She yelled, shoving him and trying to head for the stairs.

"No, no!" Sirius said, snatching her again. "You need to calm down!"

"I'll kill him again, and I swear to _Merlin_ , I'll kill you too!" She snapped, shoving against his arm.

Sirius shoved her harder, into a kitchen chair. "Calm down, Nymphadora." He demanded, leaning to rest his hands on the arms of the chairs to keep her from leaving. "You murdering your husband won't solve anything."

"It will for me." She grumbled.

"You two need to talk. You need to figure out how to help Teddy. That's what you want, right? To help Teddy?"

She glared at him.

"Don't glare at me, you know what I'm saying is true." Sirius said calmly. "Sleep in separate rooms tonight. Take a bit to calm down, and then _talk_ tomorrow morning. For Teddy."

She glowered but finally nodded. He stepped back, letting her stand and walked by him.

* * *

She spent the night in Colin's room, mostly just sitting on the edge of his bed. She felt bad, because Harry hadn't received a reply for his owl that had asked Dennis or their parents to contact him. And now he was sick.

Lily had popped her head in a couple times, but that had been hours ago. After all, Lily and James weren't fighting, and they were probably trying to have a little Harry Jr, and Tonks wouldn't be surprised if they actually did.

There was a knock on the door a while after dawn.

"Is he doing better?" Harry asked from the doorway. She shook her head. "Maybe we should take him to St Mungo's today. Maybe we just don't the experience between all of us to deal with this."

Tonks nodded. "None of us can take him. Unless we go by Floo."

"I'll take him." Harry said. "But first, your mother will be here soon."

"Oh good."

"And Sirius wants to force you and Remus to talk."

"Even better."

* * *

"I'm sorry." Remus said lamely.

"You've said that before." She responded.

"And I mean it."

"You've said that before too."

"I don't want us to fight about this." Remus said. "Please."

"Remus, you've left Teddy twice now. Me, more than that." Tonks said, leaning forward. "It hurts. You don't think I'm struggling with this? My son, who I carried for _nine_ months, and now he suffers without me. It;s been 11 years, Remus, and he's spent each month and each year without me. Can you imagine how I feel? As his mother, how this feels?"

"It pains me so bad, that we made such a mistake. We were careless, and now Teddy suffers. And I'd give my life to fix this, Dora-"

"But you can't. That's the problem, you can't fix it. It can't be fixed." She said. "And you leave, which really helps no one-"

"I know, and I'm a fool."

"There's no arguing that." Tonks said. "But Sirius made a point last night."

"That's a surprising notion."

Tonks smirked. "He said we need to figure out a way to help Teddy, and fighting isn't it."

Remus nodded. "I'm not sure there is anything. He takes Wolfsbane, but still we can't be with him. I mean, potentially, I would be able to be, because I can't be bitten twice. However, if I don't transform tonight, that could mean I possibly could be. And if I do, then I shouldn't be around anyone else- because I didn't take Wolfsbane. And you can't be with him, because you could be bitten yourself if he does transform."

"But he has Wolfsbane." Tonks said. "He'd know himself, and he'd know me."

"Doesn't mean he won't lash out." Remus explained. "Harry, how do you handle full moons?"

Harry looked up from where he was making tea. "Well, uh, he takes his Wolfsbane a while before the moon rises." Harry explained. "And then we put enchantments on his bedroom, and we wait. After a few hours, I'll sometimes remove the enchantments just to check on him."

"So that's what we'll do." Remus said simply.

"Remus, we do need to talk about you, though." Harry said. "I think you should stay in the attic tonight. The door is right next to Teddy's room, I can place enchantments across the entire landing. And if you transform, you're kept safe and we're kept safe. If you don't, then it's a simple precaution."

Remus nodded slowly. "We'll do that, then."

"Andromeda should be here within the next hour, but perhaps we should-" Harry began, but then froze.

The fireplace had flared up, and Harry cursed loudly.


	15. Chapter 15

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Andromeda appeared, and when she stepped out of the fireplace, she brushed soot off of her robes. She definitely looked aged. Harry could see Tonks could tell immediately. After all, when Harry had first met Andromeda, there had been no grey in her hair, but now, there was very little of her natural dark hair left. And she looked tired, but she looked tired since the day she buried her daughter.

"Harry, I do hope that curse word wasn't aimed at my arrival." Andromeda commented, freezing when she saw the group at the table. And then she did something no one in the kitchen expected- she pulled out her wand.

"Mum-" Tonks began, standing and walking around the table. Harry had stood as well, planning to place himself between them if it was needed.

Andromeda aimed her wand at Tonks. "Who are you?" She demanded. "Who would do this-?"

"Mum, it's me!" Tonks cried, her tone pleading.

Harry placed himself between the two women, holding one hand towards each of them. "Andromeda, please calm down."

"Who are they?" She demanded to Harry, turning her wand on Harry.

"Andromeda, put your wand down." Harry said slowly. "Please, just calm down and we can-"

"I want answers, Potter!" Andromeda snapped, swinging her wand under Harry's arm. " _Bombarda_!" The spell barely missed Tonks, smashing into the counter right beside her. She gave a shocked cry as a large chunk of the counter was blown to pieces, and Remus jumped up and pulled her back towards the table.

"Mum!" Tonks cried. "Why would you try to-"

"Don't call me that!" Andromeda yelled, trying to advance on Tonks. Harry grabbed Andromeda's wrist, pulling her wand from her hand.

"Give me my wand!" Andromeda demanded.

"Calm down, and I will." Harry said, holding the wand behind his back. "You just tried to- well, you just tried to _blow your daughter up_. She's unarmed, what in Merlin's name could she possibly do to you?"

Andromeda eyes flickered to Tonks, and Andromeda sighed, almost looking defeated. "Who is she?" Andromeda asked, quietly.

"Mum, it's me." Tonks said, trying to stand again, but Remus pulled her back down.

Harry took a deep breath. "It's exactly who it looks like."

"It can't be." Andromeda said. "I buried you-" She said to Remus. "And you." She said, her voice trembling. "I was there, I _claimed_ your bodies."

"Andromeda, I know this is a strange situation." Harry began. "Sit down, we'll discuss it."

Andromeda didn't seem to want to listen. "I want to know how they're here. They should be dead. I would know, I watched them bury my daughter."

Harry stepped towards Andromeda, dragging her to the table. "Just _sit_. Ask some questions. It's her, Andromeda." Harry said, pocketing Andromeda's wand. Andromeda sank into a chair.

"I'll finish making the tea." Harry announced, stepping away from the table.

* * *

Tonks was mildly uncomfortable. Andromeda had barely taken her eyes off of her when she sat down at the table. Harry had repaired the counter, and had made tea, but it remained untouched as Andromeda stared.

"Please, just say it." Tonks finally said.

"I don't believe it's you." Andromeda said simply.

"I can answer any question you have." Tonks said. "Just ask me anything."

"Morph." Andromeda said.

Tonks felt her stomach drop. "I- I can't." She said.

"Ton- Nymphadora has been unable to morph since she came back." Harry explained, pointedly ignoring the glare from Tonks.

"Then it's not her." Andromeda said. "I don't know who-"

"It's me." Tonks repeated. "Ask me about Dad, about when I was a kid, anything- it's me, Mum."

Andromeda was silent for a minute, and then pulled up the sleeve of her robe. There was a section of her forearm that was badly scarred, and she held out her arm. "How did this happen?"

Tonks felt herself blush, and thanked everything in the universe that her morphing abilities had vanished, or her hair would have changed to match. She also couldn't ignore Harry and Remus looking at her with curious stares.

"You were cooking dinner, and I was 6." Tonks began. "And I can't remember what happened, _exactly_ , but I set the stove on fire with accidental magic. Your arm was burned pretty badly, and Dad had to-"

"Had to heal it for me because unfortunately, it was my wand arm." Andromeda finished, her voice hoarse. "Is it really you?"

"It's really me, Mum." Tonks promised. Andromeda leaned forward, grabbing Tonks' hands.

And then smiled. "This feels right. I'd know my little girl's hands anywhere." Andromeda said, squeezing Tonks' hands.

And then Harry laughed, startling everyone. Tonks stared at him, and he held up a hand. "Sorry, I just-" He began, and then rolled up his sleeve to reveal a similar scar. "Teddy did the same thing, but _I_ was the one cooking."

Andromeda smiled softly. "He was 6 as well. I remember that. Except _I_ was the one who had to heal it."

"Teddy and Dora _both_ set a stove on fire?" Remus asked. "That's pretty destructive accidental magic."

Andromeda shrugged. "Like mother, like son, I suppose."

"Well, what was your first bought of accidental magic then?" Tonks demanded.

"I haven't the slightest idea." Remus said. "It was always just assumed I was a wizard because of the- the, uh-" He gestured to his shoulder. "The bite. A muggle would have died, although there was always the chance of being a Squib."

"I don't understand." Andromeda said to Harry. "How could they be back?"

"I know as much as you do." Harry replied. "All the Ministry knows is that seven people thought to be dead have returned-"

"Seven?" Andromeda asked, startled. "Who else?" She asked, almost sounding hopeful.

"Dad's not back, Mum." Tonks said. "I asked too."

The kitchen door swung open, and a voice spoke. "Well, if it isn't my favourite cousin." Sirius said, grinning widely.

Andromeda jumped up, turning to Sirius.

"Sirius?" She asked, startled. "Oh Merlin. Sirius Black is alive?"

"It would appear so." Sirius said, stretching out his arms. She stepped forward, hugging him.

"Sirius, I felt terrible that I never went with Dora when she said I could see you again, and then you died- and I felt even worse!" Andromeda said. She turned to Harry. "Who else came back?"

"Ron, Colin Creevey and my parents." Harry listed off.

"Your parents?" Andromeda asked, her eyes wide. "And Ronald? Have you told Molly or Arthur yet?"

"Of course, I was there yesterday. They'll be coming by tonight."


	16. Chapter 16

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

Harry left with Colin later that morning. He only returned in the evening, when the 'original' Weasley family was set to arrive. There would be time for Ron to meet his nieces and nephews, but for now, just his siblings and parents.

Charlie had been written to, but not told what had happened until he arrived at the Burrow that morning. Everyone had given Ron and the Weasleys a few hours to talk and catch up, but Molly slowly turned it into a bit of a party.

Lily and Molly had hit it off right away, when Lily bestowed a tight hug on Molly, thanking her for everything. Charlie had all but cornered Tonks, with good-natured jokes about how Metamorphmagi just don't age.

And the twins drank. Perhaps too much. They sat on either side of Ron, throwing an arm around him.

"You know, Ronniekins-" George began.

"-we wanted to say-" Fred continued.

"-that we are extremely sorry about the spider-bear." George finished.

"I thought it was bear-spider?" Fred asked.

"Spider-bear, Forge." George replied. "But we do feel bad about it. How it sprouted those legs and-"

"Honestly, I kind of got over it." Ron said, but he was laughing a bit.

* * *

When Charlie finally walked away, possibly to drunkenly bother Ron as well, Lily approached Tonks.

"You went to school with some of them, right?" Lily asked casually.

"Same year as Charlie. It's so strange. He's _older_ now." She replied.

"I couldn't help but notice he's extremely handsome."

"Lily, you're married."

"Doesn't mean a woman can't _look_." Lily said. "So, was there anything special between you and Dragon-boy?"

Tonks smirked. "We dated. That's it."

"Ooh!''

" _Not_ like that. Remus was my first. Honestly, you get too excited about this stuff."

"I've been dead almost 27 years. Excuse me for being eager to hear about other people's lives." Lily said with a wink. "Harry's gone to check on Colin, so I'm currently unable to embarrass him."

"You're _trying_ to embarrass him?" Tonks asked.

"Yes. It's a mother's job." Lily responded. "How was Teddy before he went to bed?"

"He seemed alright, though I wouldn't know otherwise." Tonks said, shrugging. "And I don't know the spells Harry used, so I can't check on him myself. Not that I can get by them without a wand, anyway-"

"Perhaps there's a reason Harry didn't tell you what he used." Lily suggested. "Because honestly, I think you're like me. You'd ignore the dangers just to be in that room with your son. Am I right?"

Tonks nodded.

"Right." Lily said, also nodding. "But, you know, I happened to see what Harry did."

Tonks looked at Lily. "You did?" She asked eagerly.

"Oh yes. The hallway is clear, just the doors were enchanted. You won't be able to get inside, but-"

Tonks had already taken off, heading up the stairs.

"You enjoy this, don't you?" James asked behind her. "Causing trouble?''

Lily turned to him. "She deserves to be near them, James." She said simply.

"So do I, but Moony kicked us out." James said. "Guess he's gotten used to being alone on nights like tonight."

* * *

Tonks was partway up the stairs when she heard the doorbell ring. She frowned, but walked over to answer it. Remus stood there, a smirk on his face.

"Remus!" Tonks cried. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be upstairs!"

"He didn't charm the window." Remus answered.

"You climbed out of the attic window?" Tonks demanded.

Remus reached into his robes, pulling out flowers and a tiny box of chocolate. "I also had my wallet." He replied. "Will you take that moonlit walk with me?"

"Harry might just kill you." Tonks said.

"I've already been dead."

She smiled, despite herself. She took the flowers and the chocolates, setting them on the table. She grabbed a cloak from beside the door. "Let's go, Mr Lupin." She said, walking outside with him.

They made it only a little way down the street when Remus stopped walking. Tonks stopped too, looking at him.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I just want to look at you, in a light I've never seen you before." He replied. "And I was right, you're just as beautiful in the moon's light."

She blushed and smiled. "Remus, you're so sappy, you know that?"

"I am aware of it."

She looked at him. He was smiling, a true genuine smile. His eyes were his own, his face- everything was him. Yet, the full moon was glowing down on him, and he was human. And he was beautiful.

"This light is quite flattering for you too, you know." Tonks said. "Can hardly see your winkles."

He laughed, pulling her into a tight embrace. He kissed her, and then leaned his head on her shoulder. "I love you so much, you know." He whispered. "And I am sorry for Teddy."

"I'm not." She said. "He's a brilliant boy, Remus. I wouldn't change a thing, in fact, I might add to them-"

"You don't mean-"

"I'd like to, one day." Tonks said. "You can't tell me you've never thought about it."

And she could tell he had thought about it, just from the way his eyes lit up.

They walked all night, completely ignoring the time. It was only when the sun had began to peak over the tall buildings, that they returned to Grimmauld.


	17. Chapter 17

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"Where have you been?" Harry demanded angrily, meeting them in the hallway. "Remus, I found the attic _empty_ this morning! What were you thinking?"

"How was Teddy last night?" Tonks asked.

"He transformed." Harry said. "He's asleep now. Don't bother going up to him, Tonks."

"He's my son, Harry." Tonks said.

"Ginny's with him, she handles him after a moon. It's how it's always been." Harry said harshly. "In the kitchen, both of you. I need to talk to all of you."

They followed him down the kitchen, like children that had been scolded by a parent. When they sat down, Harry spoke again.

"Colin died last night." He said. There was a shocked silence.

"What?" Lily asked.

"But he- what happened?" Tonks asked.

"The Healers think, perhaps, the enchantment might be wearing off." Harry said, his voice shaking. "They're concerned now, that one by one- you'll die again."

"But Colin-" James began. "How would it makes sense for the one who died last, to die _first_?"

"Maybe there won't be an order to the deaths." Sirius said. "And any of us is next."

"If anyone isn't feeling well, you need to tell me now." Harry said. "Any little thing."

"I mean, I have a headache, but I also got sloshed last night." Ron said.

The fireplace flared up and Hermione appeared, out of breath. "I found something." She said, practically stumbling into the kitchen. "It's Ron or Tonks."

Ron and Tonks frowned at her. "Sorry, what?" Tonks asked.

Hermione dropped a piece of parchment on the table. "I was looking at the list. And something was bothering me. I was trying to figure out why specifically these seven came back."

"And?" Harry prompted.

"Nothing. There is no link between half of you." Hermione said. "But I also found a book, with the spell I mentioned before. And it said that the caster had to choose. So whoever cast it, specifically chose these seven."

"Which we figured." James said.

"And then I was rereading what order they died in, how and even what time. I figured there had to be a connection. I found some Latin writing on the page, and it said they were going to be called back to Death, in order." Hermione explained.

"But if it was in order, I should have been first." James said.

"I thought that too. And then I thought maybe the order in which you were raised, but apparently there is none. You were all raised at the same time." Hermione said. "You were spotted at different times, but even that order didn't fit. Remus would have been first if that was the case. So, I wondered, why did Colin fall sick?"

"So, what's the order?" Harry asked. "Why was Colin first?"

"It's working backwards, Harry. It's reclaiming them backwards. It's just reversing." Hermione said. "That means Colin was first, and Ron or Tonks will be next."

It was complete silence, only broken when Tonks stood and fled the room. She went upstairs, planning to go to Teddy's room, just to spend some time with him. Instead she broke down on the second floor landing, leaning against the wall, sobbing. It wasn't right. She'd have to leave Teddy all over again, and this time he was old enough to know, and to remember.

She let out a scream, kicking the wall. And for a second, a thought flickered across her mind: _It's Potter's fault._

She blinked, trying to get rid of the thought. It wasn't Harry's fault, it was a Death Eater's fault. No, it was her own. If she hadn't gone to the battle, if she had convinced Remus to stay home as well, neither would have died. And they would have raised Teddy. They would possibly have had a daughter, too. They could have lived. She wrapped her arms around herself, and cried.

"Tonks?" Ginny asked, from the top of the stairs.

Tonks stood quickly, wiping her face. "How's Teddy?" She asked.

"He's alright." She answered. "It's become a routine for us now, he's used to letting me help him-"

Tonks could feel tears starting again as Ginny approached her.

"Tonks, I'm sorry." Ginny said quickly. "I didn't mean- it's just, he's _used_ to me."

"He should be used to his mother!" Tonks snapped.

"Well, what could we do, Tonks? He needed someone." Ginny said. "Andromeda couldn't do it, he needed someone-"

Tonks shoved Ginny. She knew she probably shouldn't have, but she did. Ginny hit the wall, her face full of shock.

"He's _my_ son, Ginny." She said. "Don't you dare forget that."

* * *

Alecto was now completely livid. These were Muggles that had died in the last few weeks, and _none_ of them had woken. None. She had even killed a few Muggles to try this, but _nothing._

She stared around at the dead bodies littering the place. She'd have to burn this place. It'd handle the bodies, it'd keep people off her back. She grabbed the book, heading out the door. She turned to face the building, and watched it become a fireball.

She Disapparated, appearing again near the graveyard of Godric's Hollow. She'd have to recast the spell on those still left, try to gain control once again. It wouldn't last long, but perhaps she could control them long enough to do the job.

* * *

She was sitting on the edge of Teddy's bed beside him, while Remus sat at the foot of the bed. They hadn't said much about the kitchen conversation, but the news Hermione had shared hung over their heads.

She was reading to Teddy from The Tales of Beedle The Bard(Remus noticed she skipped over The Tale of Three Brothers), perfectly content to do so.

"Mum, I might be too old for story time." Teddy commented quietly.

"Hush, love. I'm making up for lost time here." She responded.

Teddy smiled slightly.

"So you'll allow it then?" Remus asked.

Teddy nodded. "I can, for tonight."

Tonks smiled, running a hand over his hair, and continued reading. Teddy fell asleep before she had even finished, but Remus supposed that was because of the pain potions Harry supplied him.

"We'll see you in the morning, love." Tonks said quietly, kissing Teddy's forehead.

Remus followed her from the room, but they only made it down one flight of stairs. She collapsed sideways, and he rushed to grab her before she hit the floor. His own knees hit painfully, but he ignored it.

"Dora?" He asked, brushing her hair out of her face. There was a thin line of blood on the corner of her mouth. "Dora! No, no- Sirius! James!" He yelled, knowing the room Sirius was in would probably be the closest and James would probably with him.

A few seconds later he heard Ginny scream from somewhere else. "Harry! It's Ron! Harry, hurry!"

There were footsteps and Remus looked up to see Sirius and James running up to him.

"Oh Merlin." Sirius said. "Ron just collapsed too- we need to get them to St Mungo's."


	18. Chapter 18

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"We don't know who died first." Hermione said. "A Healer brought up a good point, that Killing Curse victims are usually colder sooner. She could have died right before, right after- even at the same time. We don't know."

"And we can't change this?" James asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"We can't slow it?" Lily asked.

Hermione shook her head again, feeling terrible. Once Ron and Tonks were gone, Remus was next. And already, James and Sirius were struggling with the idea.

* * *

Fred and George sat beside the bed. "So, we were excited with the whole resurrection thing." Fred began. "And we were kind of hoping-"

"-that it was permanent." George said. "We would have gotten used to the age thing, too. Found you a nice girl, because we don't have nearly enough nieces or nephews."

"And, uh, we weren't joking yesterday." Fred continued. "When we said we were sorry about Spider-Bear. We really are."

"You know,-" Ron began quietly. "I really hated that bear."

Fred laughed. "I guess we did you favour then, eh?"

* * *

"I want to speak to Ginny." She said quietly to Remus. Remus seemed confused for a moment, but nodded and left the room.

Ginny came in a few moments later, and just stood there silently.

"Ginny, please don't hate me."

"Hate you?" Ginny asked, finally approaching the bed. "I could never hate _you_."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have shoved you-"

"No, it's okay. I understand." Ginny said, sinking into a chair. "I understand it's been strange. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if I- well- _died_ and then woke up with an eleven year old son. It must be so confusing. And I understand the last few days were stressful, with _everything_."

"Teddy will be okay, right? With you?"

"Of course." Ginny said. "We're not planning on letting him go anytime soon. Except maybe to Hogwarts."

"I- thank you, Ginny, for doing what I never had a chance to."

* * *

The kitchen of Grimmauld Place was quiet. Harry, Lily, James and Sirius remained home, to give space to the people who should be there with Tonks and Ron. Harry had visited with Ron already, and the two best friends had parted- completely accepting that one would soon be dead, again.

It was good, that they got this time with these people- to really get closure. To get to know them, to learn things they hadn't known before.

Harry had enjoyed the time with his parents, even the extra time with Sirius and Remus. It also really helped Teddy, who seemed to absolutely love the days he had spent with his parents- and had been accepting when Tonks fell ill- like he already understood this wasn't permanent.

* * *

Lily stared at the knife in her hand, covered in soap from the sink. She almost felt dizzy, and almost like she knew just what to do.

"Mum?" Harry asked, appearing beside her. "Feeling alright?"

She turned to Harry, and it seemed like the knife moved on its own accord. She would later be thankful for Harry's Auror training, because he was able to move just enough to avoid a potentially fatal stab. Instead, the knife slashed his arm, spilling blood all over the floor. Harry cried out, and a second later, Lily felt arms wrapped around her, dragging her backwards.

"Lily! What the Hell!" James yelled, dragging her back as Sirius wrestled the knife from her hands.

She stared at Harry, eyes wide. "Harry- oh my god- Harry!"

Harry was staring at her, almost horrified- but also clearly unsure of what to do or say. Lily struggled against James' arms, wanting to go to Harry, who grabbed a towel from the counter to wrap around his arm.

"James, let me go-" She demanded.

"Merlin, Lils." James said, releasing her. "What the Bloody _Hell_?"

"I didn't mean to!" Lily cried. "I just- I don't know what happened!"

Sirius tossed the knife back into the sink, where it landed with a metallic thud. No one spoke for a few minutes, and Lily felt tears fill her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Harry." She said finally. "What kind of mother tries to murder _her son_?"


	19. Chapter 19

**_I've had this idea for quite a while. It's kind of lame, but why not?_**

* * *

"Are you ever angry?" Tonks asked Teddy, brushing a thumb over his cheek. "At us? For leaving?"

Teddy thought for a moment, and then nodded. "I do get mad, when I think about the idea that you left me alone." He admitted. "But Harry always told me that- that you thought you both did the right thing."

"You're such a smart boy." She said. "And you'll do great at Hogwarts."

Teddy nodded. "I've already read a few textbooks."

She smiled. "You're so much like your father."

"I hope to be like you." Teddy said, leaning against her arm. "A brave Auror."

"Then I hope you're the bravest Auror the Ministry has ever seen."

Teddy looked at her, tears filling his eyes. He stood at the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around his mother. "I'm going to make you proud, Mum."

"You already have, Teddy."

* * *

Harry was relieved that he had been able to take a few weeks off from the Auror department, because as soon as they returned, it seemed they were gone. Remus had returned that night, after midnight, with Teddy. And he didn't have to say a word to Harry, Harry could tell by the look of pain in Remus' eyes- Tonks had died once again. Ginny had gone to St Mungo's for a while, and also returned, and Harry knew without her saying a thing.

Ron and Tonks were both gone, their bodies to rejoin their graves at Hogwarts along with Colin's, and the mood in the house steadily declined.

And Remus was next. It had been fast, faster than the rest. He had two days without Tonks, one of which he spent drinking with Sirius and James, as they recounted stories from their Hogwarts years for Harry and Teddy. And the day after that, he spent the day with only Teddy, telling him all about the Marauder's Map, which Harry had handed over to Teddy for Teddy to own.

And the day after that, he just simply didn't wake up. Lily had gone to try and wake Remus, when he still hadn't joined them in the kitchen by ten in the morning, which was hours later than when Remus usually woke up. She had returned, tears on her cheeks, saying Remus was unresponsive. James and Harry had gotten Remus to St Mungo's, where he died a few hours later.

And with that, all of the Fallen Fifty were fallen once more.

Sirius didn't handle it well. He knew he was next, and he spent his last few days completely and utterly sloshed- and then simply never woke up one day.

James didn't handle it well when Lily became sick, and he refused to leave her side when she also died in St Mungo's, a few days after Sirius had died. Three days after Lily, Harry was with his father when James also died.

And just like that, the dead were dead once more and returned to their graves- Sirius finally getting a grave of his own beside James and Lily.

* * *

Alecto knew as soon as the Aurors barged into the flat she was hiding in. She had made some kind of mistake, somewhere. How they found her, she'd never know.

It seemed quick, she was arrested and sent to trial within a week, and sentenced to Azkaban for life in less than a hour at her trial.

Her only regret was that Harry Potter was still alive, and she had no chance of trying again. She could only hope someone else took her lead and killed the bastard.

* * *

 _ **Alright I apologise for ignoring this fic for so long**_

 _ **But this is it. There's an epilogue next(very short), and that's it.**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Like I said, epilogue and then we're done. haha**_

* * *

Now that Teddy was seventeen, he had begun to recognise signs that he might transform that month. Every month, however, he would be in the Shrieking Shack as a precaution. He usually was alone, but tonight, he heard someone sneaking in and quickly became concerned- not many people would be willing to sneak into the Shrieking Shack on a full moon.

The door to the room he was in opened, and fifteen year old Victoire Weasley stood in front of him grinning.

"Vic, what are you doing?" Teddy demanded. "Go!"

She grinned wider, dropping the bag she was holding. "I'm here to help you." She said. She concentrated on something, and a moment later, there was a sleek white cat where she had been.

Teddy stared.

She turned back, grinning widely. "See? I'm here to help!"

"How?" Teddy asked.

"Well, I was speaking to Uncle Harry a couple of years ago, and he mentioned your father and _his_ friends, so I got the idea to do the same thing. Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall was eager to teach me." Victoire explained. "You should get undressed-"

" _Excuse me?_ "

"You don't want to rip your school robes, do you?" Victoire asked, pulling a blanket out of her bag and handing it to him. "Here, cover yourself with that if you're _that shy_."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but she turned away and he got undressed, wrapping the blanket around his waist quickly.

"You're kind of annoyingly bossy, you know." Teddy commented.

"I know, love." She said, looking at her watch. She turned back into a cat just as the first wave of pain hit Teddy.

The next morning, he woke up to Victoire leaning over him. She had dropped another blanket on him, probably because it was a little cold in the mornings this time of year, and was grinning.

"Good morning, Moony Jr." She said, handing him a pain potion.

He sat up slowly, his muscles aching. "Good morning... _Fluffy_."


	21. Chapter 21

Hey readers(even new ones!)

I wanted to announce that I have been revisiting this story, rereading and would like to change it around, rewrite it and rework it.

It'll be uploaded as a whole new story, and I _might_ delete this one after, or keep it to compare the two.

And of course, lengthen the end chapters and add new details here and there.

Thanks for everyone reading and reviewing :)


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